Dis-trāin′1, v. t.
v. t. [imp. & p. p. DISTRAINED; p. pr. & vb. n. DISTRAINING.] [O. Fr. destraindre, Pr. destreñher, It. distringere, distrignere, from Lat. distringere, to draw asunder, hinder, molest, L. Lat. to punish severely, from prefix di, for dis, and stringere, to draw tight, to press together. See STRAIN. Blackstone writes distrein.]
Sense 1. To rend; to tear. [Obs.]
Neither guile nor force might it distrain. Spencer.
Sense 2. (Law.) To seize for debt; to take, without legal process, from the possession of a wrong-doer, into the possession of the injured party, to satisfy a demand, or compel the performance of a duty;—said of personal chattels; as, to distrain goods for rent, or for an amerement.
Sense 3. To hold in restraint; to confine; to bind. [Obs.] “Distrained with chains.” Chaucer.