Lat. In Roman law. This was tlie name of one of the legis actioncs. It was employed only in certain particular kinds of pecuniary cases, and con- sisted in that the creditor, without preliminary suit and without the co-operation of the magistrate, by reciting a prescribed formula, took an article of property from the debtor to be treated as a pledge or security. The proceeding bears a marked analogy to dis- tress at common law. Mackeld. Rom. Law,