garnishment
garnishment Lexical Profile
garnishment Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A court order or legal process directing a third party, typically an employer or bank, to withhold a portion of a debtor's wages or funds and remit them directly to a creditor to satisfy a debt.
"The payroll department received a court order for wage garnishment to cover his unpaid child support."
Something added for decoration, embellishment, or culinary presentation; a garnish.
"A sprig of fresh parsley served as a simple garnishment on the rim of the soup bowl."
Word Nuance & Usage
While 'garnish' and 'garnishment' once shared meanings, in modern usage 'garnishment' is almost exclusively reserved for the legal withholding of wages or property, whereas 'garnish' is the standard noun for a culinary decoration.
• Rhymes for garnishment
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English 'garnishement', borrowed from Old French 'garnissement', from 'garnir' ('to warn, equip, or furnish'), which is of Germanic origin akin to 'warn'. The legal sense stems from the older meaning of issuing an official warning or summons to a third party holding a debtor's property.