Hypertext Webster Gateway: "duress"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Duress \Du"ress\, n. [OF. duresse, du?, hardship, severity, L.
duritia, durities, fr. durus hard. See {Dure}.]
1. Hardship; constraint; pressure; imprisonment; restraint of
liberty.
The agreements . . . made with the landlords during
the time of slavery, are only the effect of duress
and force. --Burke.
2. (Law) The state of compulsion or necessity in which a
person is influenced, whether by the unlawful restrain of
his liberty or by actual or threatened physical violence,
to incur a civil liability or to commit an offense.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Duress \Du*ress"\, v. t.
To subject to duress. ``The party duressed.'' --Bacon.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
duress
n : compulsory force or threat; "confessed under duress"
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