attaint

English

Alternative forms

• atteint

Etymology

From Old French ateint, past participle of ateindre.

Adjective

attaint (comparative more attaint, superlative most attaint)

1. (obsolete) Convicted, attainted.
2. (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)

1. (archaic) To subject to attainder; to condemn (someone) to death and extinction of all civil rights.
2. (archaic) To subject to calumny; to accuse of a crime or dishonour.
3. (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)

1. (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.

2. A wound on the leg of a horse caused by a blow
3. (obsolete, law) The giving of a false verdict by a jury; the conviction of such a jury, and the reversal of the verdict