Amercements

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A form of monetary penalty imposed by a court as compensation for a legal infraction or violation
2. A punitive financial obligation assessed to enforce compliance with a legal obligation or to deter misconduct
3. A pecuniary penalty that serves both as a punishment for wrongdoing and a means of remedying an injury or offense done to another party

Etymology: The plural here follows the singular "amercement", which is a noun built on the verb "amerce", meaning to punish someone with a fine whose amount was left to the mercy of the court. The phrase behind it is Old French "à merci", literally "at mercy", so the penalty was originally a fine decided at the discretion of the judge rather than a fixed sum set by statute. Anglo-Norman speakers turned that phrase into the verb "amercier", and English then added the suffix "-ment" to make a noun for the act of fining. Medieval Latin writers also produced "amerciamentum", a learned Latinized form built from "amerciari" plus "-amentum", which shows scholars trying to dress up the French-derived legal term in Latin clothing. The English word is thus a French legal phrase that passed through Anglo-Norman courts and was then given an English suffix, with the plural "amercements" used for several such fines at once.

Synonyms: penalties, fines