The act of attainting, or the state of being attainted; the extinction of the civil rights and capacities of a person, consequent upon sentence of death or outlawry; as, an act of attainder.
A stain or staining; state of being in dishonor or condemnation.
Conviction of treason or felony and resulting in forfeiture of rights and property. (Sayles, George O. The King's Parliament of England, 143)
Guilt. A bill of attainder is a law declaring someone guilty of an offense without a trial.
A person was attainted, that is declared to possess tainted blood, if he was found guilty of treason or a felony. His estates would be forfeit following such a sentence and no one could inherit through him. The process was not abolished until 1870.
At common law, the legal consequences of a judgment of death or outlawry in respect of treason or felony, by forfeiture of real estate (land) and other personal property, corruption of blood, so that the condemned could neither inherit nor transmit by descent and generally, extinction of all civil rights and capacities.
the act of divesting a nobleman or knight of his rank, honours or prerogatives; in Britain, such an action undertaken by an Act of Parliament.
In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura is the stain or corruption of blood which arises from being condemned for any crime.
