What does attainder mean?
Attainder is a term from English law describing the legal consequences that followed a sentence of death for treason or felony. A person under attainder forfeited their lands and goods to the Crown and suffered what was called 'corruption of blood' — they could neither inherit property nor pass any on to their descendants. The term also refers to a bill or act of attainder, a legislative measure declaring an individual guilty of a serious crime without a trial, a device used notoriously in Tudor England against political enemies. The injustice of this practice was so widely recognized that the framers of the United States Constitution explicitly prohibited Congress and the states from passing bills of attainder. Today the word survives almost entirely in historical and constitutional contexts, evoking arbitrary power, the abuse of legislative authority, and the severe punishment of families for the crimes of one member.
nounIn English law, the state of being condemned to death for treason or felony, resulting in the forfeiture of one's property and the 'corruption of blood' — the loss of the ability to inherit or pass on property to heirs. More generally, a bill or act of attainder is a legislative act that declares a person guilty of a crime without trial.
- The legal state of having been sentenced to death for treason or felony, entailing forfeiture of property and 'corruption of blood' (loss of inheritance rights).
- A legislative declaration of guilt without judicial trial (a bill or act of attainder).
"Under the old statutes, attainder stripped the convicted traitor's family of both estate and inheritance rights."
"The Act of Attainder declared the nobleman guilty of high treason without any hearing in court."
"Because of his attainder, the family estate passed to the Crown rather than to his children."
Rarely used in the plural; typically appears only when referring collectively to multiple historical acts of attainder.
"Tudor parliaments issued numerous attainders against their political opponents."
A single act of attainder could wipe out a family's entire inheritance — without ever holding a trial.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of attainder
Attainder derives from the Anglo-Norman French verb atteindre, meaning 'to attain, convict, or touch upon', itself from the Old French ataindre and ultimately from the Latin attingere ('to reach or touch'), formed from ad- ('to') plus tangere ('to touch'). The same Latin root gives us related English words such as attain, attainment, and tangent, as well as taint, which entered English through the closely related form attaint. The word has been part of English legal vocabulary since the medieval period, when it described the formal conviction and its attendant forfeiture of rights.
How attainder is actually used
Attainder is a formal legal-historical term, encountered chiefly in discussions of British constitutional history, Tudor-era politics, and US constitutional law (where bills of attainder are expressly prohibited). It carries connotations of harsh, arbitrary punishment and is not used in everyday speech.
Easily confused with attainder
Attainment means achievement or accomplishment, whereas attainder is a legal term for the loss of civil rights following condemnation for treason or felony.
Taint refers broadly to corruption or contamination, while attainder is specifically the legal process by which a convicted person's blood was deemed 'corrupted', barring inheritance.