IMPRESSMENT

impressment (im-pres-m[schwa]nt), n. 1. The act of forcibly taking (something) for public service. 2. A court’s imposition of a constructive trust on equitable grounds. See constructive trust under TRUST. 3. Archaic. The method by which armed forces were formerly expanded, when so-called press-gangs seized men off the streets and forced them to join the army […]