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Arrest

1. The act of stopping, or restraining from further motion, etc.; stoppage; hindrance; restraint; as, an arrest of development. As the arrest of the air showeth. (Bacon)

2. The taking or apprehending of a person by authority of law; legal restraint; custody. Also, a decree, mandate, or warrant. William . . . Ordered him to be put under arrest. (Macaulay) [Our brother Norway] sends out arrests on Fortinbras; which he, in brief, obeys. (Shak)

An arrest may be made by seizing or touching the body; but it is sufficient in the party be within the power of the officer and submit to the arrest. In admiralty law, and in old english practice, the term is applied to the seizure of property.

3. Any seizure by power, physical or moral. The sad stories of fire from heaven, the burning of his sheep, etc, . . . Were sad arrests to his troubled spirit. (Jer. Taylor)

4. (Science: veterinary) a scurfiness of the back part of the hind leg of a horse; also named rat-tails. Arrest of judgment, the staying or stopping of a judgment, after verdict, for legal cause. The motion for this purpose is called a motion in arrest of judgment.

Origin: oe. Arest, arrest, OF. Arest, f. Arret, fr. Arester. See arrest, Arrt.