Attaint
Alternative forms
Origin
From Old French ateint, past participle of ateindre.
Full definition of attaint
Adjective
attaint
Verb
- (archaic) To subject to attainder; to condemn (someone) to death and extinction of all civil rights.
- (archaic) To subject to calumny; to accuse of a crime or dishonour.
- (now rare) To taint; to corrupt, sully.
- 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, IV.i:Amoret right fearefull was and faint,
Lest she with blame her honor should attaint ....
Noun
attaint
(plural attaints)- (archaic) A blow or strike, especially in jousting.
- 2009, Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall, Fourth Estate 2010, p. 484:At the moment of impact, the king's eyes are open, his body braced for the atteint; he takes the blow perfectly, its force absorbed by a body securely armoured, moving in the right direction, maving at the right speed.
- A wound on the leg of a horse caused by a blow
- (obsolete, legal) The giving of a false verdict by a jury; the conviction of such a jury, and the reversal of the verdict