to attaint
- verb
- /əˈteɪnt/
- Archaic
:
despojar
- To be attainted was to be "dead in law," and its consequences went beyond capital punishment, to forfeiture of all property and to "corruption of blood," which meant that relatives could not inherit property through the attainted person.
- attainted person
Examples
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To be attainted was to be "dead in law," and its consequences went beyond capital punishment, to forfeiture of all property and to "corruption of blood," which meant that relatives could not inherit property through the attainted person.
Academic text (2004) -
And if any man would deny our sovereign lord's title to our lands and fealty... ...let him speak now, or be attainted traitor.
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Such insistence on judicial process was criticized by none other than Thomas Jefferson, who drafted a bill in 1778 by which the Virginia legislature attainted a notorious criminal called Josiah Phillips.
Academic text (2004) -
The founders' acute familiarity with the concept is reflected in Article III, Section 3, Clause 2 of the Constitution, which provides: "No Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted."
Academic text (2004) -
In historical documents, it is noted that many were attainted for treason, losing both their rights and properties.
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The nobleman was attainted for his betrayal, resulting in the forfeiture of all his land and titles.
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Legislative measures were enacted to ensure that those who were attainted could not pass their wealth to their heirs.
Surface Forms
Etymology
Attaint was also a legal word from the same parts ad- and tangere 'to touch', where a court or ruler would 'touch' a person with a stain and take away their rights or goods. That's why, historically, to attaint someone meant to condemn them by attainder and lose their property and civil rights.
