At*tach"ment (&?;), n. [F.
attachment.] 1. The act attaching, or state of
being attached; close adherence or affection; fidelity; regard; an&?;
passion of affection that binds a person; as, an attachment to a
friend, or to a party.
2. That by which one thing is attached to another;
connection; as, to cut the attachments of a muscle.
The human mind . . . has exhausted its forces in the
endeavor to rend the supernatural from its attachment to this
history.
I. Taylor.
3. Something attached; some adjunct attached to an
instrument, machine, or other object; as, a sewing machine
attachment (i. e., a device attached to a sewing machine to
enable it to do special work, as tucking, etc.).
4. (Giv. Law) (a) A seizure
or taking into custody by virtue of a legal process.
(b) The writ or percept commanding such seizure or
taking.
&fist; The term is applied to a seizure or taking either of persons or
property. In the serving of process in a civil suit, it is most generally
applied to the taking of property, whether at common law, as a species of
distress, to compel defendant's appearance, or under local statutes, to
satisfy the judgment the plaintiff may recover in the action. The terms
attachment and arrest are both applied to the taking or
apprehension of a defendant to compel an appearance in a civil action.
Attachments are issued at common law and in chancery, against
persons for contempt of court. In England, attachment is employed in
some cases where capias is with us, as against a witness who fails
to appear on summons. In some of the New England States a writ of
attachment is a species of mesne process upon which the
property of a defendant may be seized at the commencement of a suit and
before summons to him, and may be held to satisfy the judgment the
plaintiff may recover. In other States this writ can issue only against
absconding debtors and those who conceal themselves. See Foreign,
Garnishment, Trustee process. Bouvier.
Burrill. Blackstone.
Syn. -- Attachment, Affection. The leading idea of
affection is that of warmth and tenderness; the leading idea of
attachment is that of being bound to some object by strong and
lasting ties. There is more of sentiment (and sometimes of romance) in
affection, and more of principle in preserving attachment. We
speak of the ardor of the one, and the fidelity of the other. There is
another distinction in the use and application of these words. The term
attachment is applied to a wider range of objects than
affection. A man may have a strong attachment to his country,
to his profession, to his principles, and even to favorite places; in
respect to none of these could we use the word affection.
