IMPOUND

impound, pound

(verb) place or shut up in a pound; “pound the cows so they don’t stray”

impound, attach, sequester, confiscate, seize

(verb) take temporary possession of as a security, by legal authority; “The FBI seized the drugs”; “The customs agents impounded the illegal shipment”; “The police confiscated the stolen artwork”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Verb

impound (third-person singular simple present impounds, present participle impounding, simple past and past participle impounded)

(transitive) to shut up or place in an enclosure called a pound

(transitive) to hold back (for example water by a dam)

(transitive, law) to hold in the custody of a court or its delegate

(transitive, law, banking) to collect and hold (funds) for payment of property taxes and insurance on property in which one has a security interest

Noun

impound (plural impounds)

a place in which things are impounded

a state of being impounded

that which has been impounded

(law, banking) amounts collected from a debtor and held by one with a security interest in property for payment of property taxes and insurance

Source: Wiktionary

Im*pound" (, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Impounded; p. pr. & vb. n. Impounding.]

Definition: To shut up or place in an inclosure called a pound; hence, to hold in the custody of a court; as, to impound stray cattle; to impound a document for safe keeping. But taken and impounded as a stray, The king of Scots. Shak.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition