distrain

verb

Etymology: From Middle English distreynen, from Old French destraindre, from Latin distringō (“to pull asunder”), from dis- (“apart”) + stringō (“to draw tight, strain”).

1. To squeeze, press, embrace; to constrain, oppress.

   “But when he heard her answeres loth, he knew / Some secret sorrow did her heart distraine […]”

   “Thus spake the Prince, and gently 'gan distrain / Now him, now her, between his friendly arms.”

2. To force (someone) to do something by seizing their property.

   “to distrain a person by his goods and chattels”

3. To seize somebody's property in place of, or to force, payment of a debt.
4. To pull off, tear apart.

   “For that same net so cunningly was wound, / That neither guile, nor force might it distraine.”