confiscate — con·fis·cate / kän fə ˌskāt/ vt cat·ed, cat·ing: to seize without compensation as forfeited to the public treasury compare criminal forfeiture ◇ Illegal items such as narcotics or firearms, or profits from the sale of illegal items, may be… … Law dictionary
confiscate — con‧fis‧cate [ˈkɒnfskeɪt ǁ ˈkɑːn ] verb [transitive] LAW to officially take private property away from someone, for example because a crime has been committed: • The state can confiscate criminals profits from books or movies describing their… … Financial and business terms
Confiscate — Con fis*cate (? or ?), a. [L. confiscatus, p. p. of confiscare to confiscate, prop., to lay up in a chest; con + fiscus basket, purse, treasury. See {Fiscal}.] Seized and appropriated by the government to the public use; forfeited. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Confiscate — Con fis*cate (? or ?; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Confiscated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Confiscating}.] To seize as forfeited to the public treasury; to appropriate to the public use. [1913 Webster] It was judged that he should be banished and his whole… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
confiscate — 1550s, originally, to appropriate for the treasury, from L. confiscatus, pp. of confiscare, from com together (see COM (Cf. com )) + fiscus public treasury, lit. money basket. Related: Confiscated; confiscating … Etymology dictionary
confiscate — appropriate, *arrogate, usurp, preempt Analogous words: seize, *take, grab: condemn, proscribe (see SENTENCE vb) … New Dictionary of Synonyms
confiscate — [v] steal; seize accroach, annex, appropriate, arrogate, assume, commandeer, confisticate, expropriate, glom on to*, grab, hijack, impound, liberate, moonlight requisition*, possess oneself of, preempt, sequester, sequestrate, swipe, take, take… … New thesaurus
confiscate — ► VERB 1) take or seize (property) with authority. 2) appropriate to the public treasury as a penalty. DERIVATIVES confiscation noun confiscatory adjective. ORIGIN Latin confiscare put away in a chest, consign to the public treasury , from fiscus … English terms dictionary
confiscate — [kän′fis kāt΄] vt. confiscated, confiscating [< L confiscatus, pp. of confiscare, to lay up in a chest < com , together + fiscus, money basket, public treasury: see FISCAL] 1. to seize (private property) for the public treasury, usually as… … English World dictionary
confiscate — v. (D; tr.) to confiscate from * * * [ kɒnfɪskeɪt] (D; tr.) to confiscate from … Combinatory dictionary
confiscate — [16] Confiscate’s etymological connotations are financial: the Latin verb confīscāre meant ‘appropriate to the public treasury’. It was formed from the collective prefix com and fiscus. This meant originally ‘rush basket’; it was applied to the… … The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins
