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The act of seizing for public use, or of impressing into public service; compulsion to serve; as, the impressment of provisions or of sailors. The great scandal of our naval service -- impressment -- died a protracted death. J. H. Burton.

Existing only in contemplation of law; not capable of actual visible seizin or possession; not being an object of sense; intangible; -- opposed to corporeal. Incorporeal hereditament. See under Hereditament.

r cooled) to give the maximum thermodynamic efficiency and to avoid excessive friction or seizing.

Livery of seizin. The grant of land or a feud was perfected by the ceremony oinvestiture, or open delivery of possession. Blackstone.

ing the family Alcedinidæ. Most of them feed upon fishes which they capture by diving and seizing then with the beak; others feed only upon reptiles, insects, etc. About one hundred and fifty species are known. They are found in nearly all parts of the world, but are particularly abundant in the East Indies.…

on; to make a levy; as, to levy on property; the usual mode of levying, in England, is by seizing the goods. To levy on goods and chattels, to take into custody or seize specific property in satisfaction of a writ.

A seizing or closing in upon; a pinching; as, in the northern seas, the nip of masses of ice.

A device with fingers or jaws for seizing an object and holding or conveying it; as, in a printing press, a clasp for catching a sheet and conveying it to the form.

No; not any; as, nul disseizin; nul tort.

A putting out of possession; dispossession; ejection; disseizin. Ouster of the freehold is effected by abatement, intrusion, disseizin, discontinuance, or deforcement. Blackstone. Ouster le main. Etym: [Ouster + F. la main the hand, L. manus.] (Law) A delivery of lands out of the hands of a guardian, or out of the king…

The having, holding, or detention of property in one's power or command; actual seizin or occupancy; ownership, whether rightful or wrongful.

Adapted to seize or grasp; seizing; grasping; as, the prehensile tail of a monkey.

The act of taking hold, seizing, or grasping, as with the hand or other member.

The act of seizing with violence. [Obs.] Barrow .

ine due to the king on the writ or commencement of a suit by fine. Blackstone. -- Primer seizin (Feudal Law), the right of the king, when a tenant in capite died seized of a knight's fee, to receive of the heir, if of full age, one year's profits of the land if in possession, and half a year's profits if the land was…

An attack or invasion for the purpose of making arrests, seizing property, or plundering; as, a raid of the police upon a gambling house; a raid of contractors on the public treasury. [Colloq. U. S.]

Given to plunder; disposed or accustomed to seize by violence; seizing by force. " The downfall of the rapacious and licentious Knights Templar." Motley.

The act of seizing and carrying away by force; violent seizure; robbery. And ruined orphans of thy rapes complain. Sandys.

The act of plundering; the seizing and carrying away of things by force; spoliation; pillage; plunder. Men who were impelled to war quite as much by the desire of rapine as by the desire of glory. Macaulay.

Adapted for seizing prey; -- said of the legs, claws, etc., of insects, birds, and other animals.