attach definition | Dictionary.com

at⋅tach

[uh-tach]

–verb (used with object)

1.	to fasten or affix; join; connect: to attach a photograph to an application with a staple.

2.	to join in action or function; make part of: to attach oneself to a group.

3.	Military. to place on temporary duty with or in assistance to a military unit.

4.	to include as a quality or condition of something: One proviso is attached to this legacy.

5.	to assign or attribute: to attach significance to a gesture.

6.	to bind by ties of affection or regard: You always attach yourself to people who end up hurting you.

7.	Law. to take (persons or property) by legal authority.

8.	Obsolete. to lay hold of; seize.

–verb (used without object)

9.	to adhere; pertain; belong (usually fol. by to or upon): No blame attaches to him.

Origin:
1300–50; ME atachen < AF atacher to seize, OF atachier to fasten, alter. of estachier to fasten with or to a stake, equiv. to estach(e) (< Gmc *stakka stake ) + -ier inf. suffix

Related forms:

at⋅tach⋅a⋅ble, adjective

at⋅tach⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
1. subjoin, append, add, annex.

Antonyms:
1. detach.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To attach

at·tach (ə-tāch')

v. at·tached, at·tach·ing, at·tach·es

v. tr.

To fasten, secure, or join: attached the wires to the post.
To connect as an adjunct or associated condition or part: Many major issues are attached to this legislation.
To affix or append; add: attached several riders to the document.
To ascribe or assign: attached no significance to the threat.
To bind by emotional ties, as of affection or loyalty: I am attached to my family.
To assign (personnel) to a military unit on a temporary basis.
Law To seize (persons or property) by legal writ.

v. intr.
To adhere, belong, or relate: Very little prestige attaches to this position.

[Middle English attachen, from Old French attachier, alteration of estachier, from estache, stake, of Germanic origin.]
at·tach'a·ble adj., at·tach'er n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Attach

At*tach"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Attached; p. pr. & vb. n. Attaching.] [OF. atachier, F. attacher, to tie or fasten: cf. Celt. tac, tach, nail, E. tack a small nail, tack to fasten. Cf. Attack, and see Tack.]

1. To bind, fasten, tie, or connect; to make fast or join; as, to attach one thing to another by a string, by glue, or the like.

The shoulder blade is . . . attached only to the muscles. --Paley.

A huge stone to which the cable was attached. --Macaulay.

2. To connect; to place so as to belong; to assign by authority; to appoint; as, an officer is attached to a certain regiment, company, or ship.

3. To win the heart of; to connect by ties of love or self-interest; to attract; to fasten or bind by moral influence; -- with to; as, attached to a friend; attaching others to us by wealth or flattery.

Incapable of attaching a sensible man. --Miss Austen.

God . . . by various ties attaches man to man. --Cowper.

4. To connect, in a figurative sense; to ascribe or attribute; to affix; -- with to; as, to attach great importance to a particular circumstance.

Top this treasure a curse is attached. --Bayard Taylor.

5. To take, seize, or lay hold of. [Obs.] --Shak.

6. To take by legal authority: (a) To arrest by writ, and bring before a court, as to answer for a debt, or a contempt; -- applied to a taking of the person by a civil process; being now rarely used for the arrest of a criminal. (b) To seize or take (goods or real estate) by virtue of a writ or precept to hold the same to satisfy a judgment which may be rendered in the suit. See Attachment, 4.

The earl marshal attached Gloucester for high treason. --Miss Yonge.

Attached column (Arch.), a column engaged in a wall, so that only a part of its circumference projects from it.

Syn: To affix; bind; tie; fasten; connect; conjoin; subjoin; annex; append; win; gain over; conciliate.

Attach

At*tach"\, v. i. 1. To adhere; to be attached.

The great interest which attaches to the mere knowledge of these facts cannot be doubted. --Brougham.

2. To come into legal operation in connection with anything; to vest; as, dower will attach. --Cooley.

Attach

At*tach"\, n. An attachment. [Obs.] --Pope.

Language Translation for : attach

Spanish: atar, sujetar, adjuntar,

German: befestigen,

Japanese: 付ける

More Translations »

attach

1330, "to take or seize (property or goods) by law," a legal term, from O.Fr. estachier "to attach" (Fr. attacher, It. attaccare), perhaps from a- "to" + Frank. *stakon "a post, stake" or a similar Gmc. word (see stake (n.)). Meaning "to fasten, affix, connect" is first attested 1802, from French. Attachment "affection, devotion" is from 1704.

Main Entry: at·tach
Function: verb
Etymology: Anglo-French attacher to lodge (an action in court), seize (a person or property) by legal authority, from Old French atachier to fasten, fix, alteration of estachier, from estache stake
transitive verb 1 : to obtain a court order against (property of another person) that directs an officer of the court (as a sheriff) to seize or take control of the property —compare GARNISH, LEVY
NOTE: A plaintiff may attach a defendant's property as a way of obtaining jurisdiction for the purpose of bringing a lawsuit or to prevent the defendant from getting rid of property that may be needed to pay a judgment to the plaintiff.
2 : to join or make a part of attached to the suit —Rosalind Resnick>
3 : to create a security interest in (property) and so acquire the right to foreclose on or otherwise deal with property for payment of a debt and to exercise one's rights in the property against third parties —see also security interest at INTEREST 1 —compare PERFECT intransitive verb : to become effective: as a : to come into existence as a security interest attaches> b : to become operative esp. as a right attaches only at or after the initiation of adversary judicial proceedings —United States v. Gouveia, 467 U.S. 180 (1984)> —see also JEOPARDY —at·tach·able adjective —at·tach·ment noun

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