arrest
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈɹɛst/
rhymes: -ɛst
Forms: form: arrests
form: arresting
form: arrested
form: arrested
Etymology: From Middle English arest (noun) and aresten (verb), from Old French areste (noun) and arester (“to stay, stop”, verb), from Vulgar Latin *arrestō, from Latin ad- (“to”) + restō (“to stop, remain behind, stay back”), from re- (“back”) + stō (“to stand”), from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand”), equivalent to ad- + rest. Compare French arrêter (“to stop”).
Senses: examples: text: An vncouth paine torments my grieued ſoule,
And death arreſts the organe of my voyce.
ref: c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene vii:
text: Nor could her virtues, nor repeated vows Of thousand lovers, the relentless hand Of Death arrest;
ref: 1708, [John Philips], “Book I”, in Cyder. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 11:
text: Mr. Van Rensberg broke the spell by arresting Martha as she trailed past him on Billy's arm, by pointing his pipestem at her and saying, ‘Hey, Matty, come here a minute.’
ref: 1952, Doris Lessing, Martha Quest, Panther, published 1974, page 86:
glosses: To stop the motion of (a person, animal, or body part).
examples: text: A white Starre[…]whiche to every mans sighte did lighte and arrest apon the Standard of Albry.
ref: 1538, John Leland, Itineraries:
glosses: To stay, remain.
examples: text: To try to arrest the spiral of violence, I contacted Chief Buthelezi to arrange a meeting.
ref: 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, London: Abacus, published 2010, page 707:
text: 1997: Chris Horrocks, Introducing Foucault, page 69 (Totem Books, Icon Books; →ISBN
Knowledge replaced universal resemblance with finite differences. History was arrested and turned into tables …Western reason had entered the age of judgement.
glosses: To stop or slow (a process, course etc.).
examples: text: The police have arrested a suspect in the murder inquiry.
text: The suspect merchant ship has been arrested by customs officers.
text: I arrest thee of high treason.
ref: 1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:
text: The policeman who arrests the "Red" does not understand the theories the "Red" is preaching; if he did, his own position as bodyguard of the monied class might seem less pleasant to him.
ref: 1941, George Orwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, Pt. I:
glosses: To seize (someone) with the authority of the law; to take into legal custody.
examples: text: There is something about this picture—something bold and vigorous, which arrests the attention. I feel sure it would be highly popular.
ref: 1919: P. G. Wodehouse, My Man Jeeves
glosses: To catch the attention of.
examples: text: Realizing the mistake immediately from the outline of the RCA on the fluoroscope screen, he rapidly removed the catheter – just as his patient arrested.
ref: 2004, Euan A. Ashley, Josef Niebauer, Cardiology Explained, page 66:
topics: medicine
sciences
glosses: To undergo cardiac arrest.
Synonyms: sense: to stop the motion of
word: freeze
word: halt
sense: to stop or slow a process
word: cease
word: discontinue
sense: to seize someone
word: apprehend
word: seize
sense: to catch the attention of
word: attract
word: dazzle
word: engage
word: entice
Derived terms: word: aperest
word: arrestability
word: arrestable
word: arrestee
word: arrester
word: arrestor
word: arresting
word: arrestive
word: arrestment
word: arrest-me-red
word: dearrest
word: rearrest
word: unarrest
Related terms: arrestation