Replevied

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Legally recovered wrongfully taken or detained property by means of a court action known as replevin
2. Reclaimed seized goods pending a lawsuit by posting bond through a formal legal procedure
3. Won back possession of personal property that was unlawfully held, through a court-ordered process

Etymology: "Replevied" is the past tense and past participle of "replevy," a legal verb meaning to recover goods that have been seized, by giving security that the matter will be decided in court. The verb came into English from Old French "replevir," meaning "recover," built from the prefix "re-" and "plevir," a word probably taken from a Germanic source that also gave us "pledge." The shared root points to the same idea: a promise or guarantee given to secure something. That pledge sense explains the legal procedure. A person whose property had been distrained, or taken as security for a debt or wrong, could have it returned to them by a bailiff's process, provided they put up a pledge to pursue the claim. The word thus preserves a picture of goods handed back once someone has promised to stand behind the dispute.