mulct
/mʌlkt/ noun, verb
Forms mulcts mulcting mulcted
- noun (law) A fine or penalty, especially a pecuniary one.
- verb To impose such a fine or penalty.
- verb (transitive) To swindle (someone) out of money.
Synonyms
fine amercement victimize swindle rook goldbrick nobble diddle bunco defraud scam gyp gip hornswoggle short-change con
Etymology
From Middle French mulcter (“to fine, punish”), from Latin mulcta (“penalty, fine”). Possibly a doublet of milk.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A fine or penalty, esp. a pecuniary punishment or penalty.
- noun A blemish or defect. [Obs.]
- verb To punish for an offense or misdemeanor by imposing a fine or forfeiture, esp. a pecuniary fine; to fine.
- verb Hence, to deprive of; to withhold by way of punishment or discipline. [Obs.]
Etymology [L. mulcta, multa.]
Etymology [L. mulctare, multare.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “mulct”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details