Definition of "amerce" [a•merce]

• Law To punish by a fine imposed arbitrarily at the discretion of the court. (verb-transitive)
• To punish by imposing an arbitrary penalty. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Whether you relate to the youth on the quest of nobility, the rogue along for the ride, or the princess risking everything for those she loves, you can amerce your self in it."
• "And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days."
• "The court, therefore, doth condemn and amerce him in three porringers of curds, well cemented and closed together, shining like pearls, and codpieced after the fashion of the country, to be paid unto the said defendant about the middle of August in May."