Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Attaint
At-taint′
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Attainted
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Attainting
.] 1.
To attain; to get act; to hit.
[Obs.]
2.
(Old Law)
To find guilty; to convict; – said esp. of a jury on trial for giving a false verdict.
[Obs.]
Upon sufficient proof
attainted
of some open act by men of his own condition. Blackstone.
3.
(Law)
To subject (a person) to the legal condition formerly resulting from a sentence of death or outlawry, pronounced in respect of treason or felony; to affect by attainder.
No person shall be
attainted
of high treason where corruption of blood is incurred, but by the oath of two witnesses. Stat. 7 & 8 Wm. III.
4.
To accuse; to charge with a crime or a dishonorable act.
[Archaic]
5.
To affect or infect, as with physical or mental disease or with moral contagion; to taint or corrupt.
My tender youth was never yet
With any passion of inflaming love.
attaint
With any passion of inflaming love.
Shakespeare
6.
To stain; to obscure; to sully; to disgrace; to cloud with infamy.
For so exceeding shone his glistring ray,
That Ph[GREEK]bus’ golden face it did
That Ph[GREEK]bus’ golden face it did
attaint
. Spenser.
Lest she with blame her honor should
attaint
. Spenser.
At-taint′
,p.
p.
Attainted; corrupted.
[Obs.]
Shak.
1.
A touch or hit.
Sir W. Scott.
2.
(Far.)
A blow or wound on the leg of a horse, made by overreaching.
White.
3.
(Law)
A writ which lies after judgment, to inquire whether a jury has given a false verdict in any court of record; also, the convicting of the jury so tried.
Bouvier.
5.
An infecting influence.
[R.]
Shak.
Webster 1828 Edition
Attaint
ATTA'INT
,Verb.
T.
1.
To taint or corrupt; to extinguish the pure or inheritable blood of a person found guilty of treason or felony, by confession, battle, or verdict, and consequent sentence of death, or by special act of Parliament.No person shall be attainted of high treason where corruption of blood is incurred, but by the oath of two witnesses, &c.
2.
To taint, as the credit of jurors, convicted of giving a false verdict. This is done by special writ of attaint. The conviction of such a crime attaints the reputation of jurors, and renders them infamous.3.
To disgrace; to cloud with infamy; to stain.4.
To taint or corrupt.ATTA'INT
,Noun.
1.
A stain, spot or taint. [See taint.]2.
Any thing injurious; that which impairs. Obs.3.
A blow or wound on the hinder feet of a horse.4.
A writ which lies after judgment against a jury for giving a false verdict in any court of record.Definition 2024
attaint
attaint
English
Alternative forms
Adjective
attaint (comparative more attaint, superlative most attaint)
- (obsolete) Convicted, attainted.
- (obsolete) Attainted; corrupted.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
Verb
attaint (third-person singular simple present attaints, present participle attainting, simple past and past participle attainted)
- (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 [...].
- 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, IV.i:
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.
- 2009, Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall, Fourth Estate 2010, p. 484:
- A wound on the leg of a horse caused by a blow
- (obsolete, law) The giving of a false verdict by a jury; the conviction of such a jury, and the reversal of the verdict