To seize someone's property as security or payment for a debt, especially in a legal context; a legal right to take possessions.
From Old French distrainer, from Latin distringere 'to pull tight or stretch apart,' originally meaning to compel by seizing property.
Distrain is the legal superpower to take your stuff—it's how landlords historically could grab your furniture if you didn't pay rent, a word that echoes feudal power dynamics.
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