| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| deforce |
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| SYLLABICATION: | de·force |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  d -fôrs , -f rs |
| TRANSITIVE VERB: | Inflected forms: de·forced, de·forc·ing, de·forc·es
Law To withhold (something) by force from the rightful owner. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English deforcen, from Anglo-Norman deforcer, from Old French desforcier : des-, de- + forcier, to force (from Vulgar Latin *forti re, from Latin fortis, strong; see bhergh-2 in Appendix I). | | OTHER FORMS: | de·forcement —NOUN
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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