\At*tach"ment\, n. [F. attachment.]
1. The act attaching, or state of being attached; close
   adherence or affection; fidelity; regard; an? passion of
   affection that binds a person; as, an attachment to a
   friend, or to a party.

2. That by which one thing is attached to another;
   connection; as, to cut the attachments of a muscle.

         The human mind . . . has exhausted its forces in the
         endeavor to rend the supernatural from its
         attachment to this history.           --I. Taylor.

3. Something attached; some adjunct attached to an
   instrument, machine, or other object; as, a sewing machine
   attachment (i. e., a device attached to a sewing machine
   to enable it to do special work, as tucking, etc.).

4. (Giv. Law)
   (a) A seizure or taking into custody by virtue of a legal
       process.
   (b) The writ or percept commanding such seizure or taking.

Note: The term is applied to a seizure or taking either of
      persons or property. In the serving of process in a
      civil suit, it is most generally applied to the taking
      of property, whether at common law, as a species of
      distress, to compel defendant's appearance, or under
      local statutes, to satisfy the judgment the plaintiff
      may recover in the action. The terms attachment and
      arrest are both applied to the taking or apprehension
      of a defendant to compel an appearance in a civil
      action. Attachments are issued at common law and in
      chancery, against persons for contempt of court. In
      England, attachment is employed in some cases where
      capias is with us, as against a witness who fails to
      appear on summons. In some of the New England States a
      writ of attachment is a species of mesne process upon
      which the property of a defendant may be seized at the
      commencement of a suit and before summons to him, and
      may be held to satisfy the judgment the plaintiff may
      recover. In other States this writ can issue only
      against absconding debtors and those who conceal
      themselves. See {Foreign}, {Garnishment}, {Trustee
      process}. --Bouvier. --Burrill. --Blackstone.

Syn: {Attachment}, {Affection}.

Usage: The leading idea of affection is that of warmth and
       tenderness; the leading idea of attachment is that of
       being bound to some object by strong and lasting ties.
       There is more of sentiment (and sometimes of romance)
       in affection, and more of principle in preserving
       attachment. We speak of the ardor of the one, and the
       fidelity of the other. There is another distinction in
       the use and application of these words. The term
       attachment is applied to a wider range of objects than
       affection. A man may have a strong attachment to his
       country, to his profession, to his principles, and
       even to favorite places; in respect to none of these
       could we use the word affection.