1. To lay hold of; to gain or receive into possession; to seize; to deprive one of the possession of; to assume ownership. Thus, it is a constitutional provision that a man’s property shall not be taken for public uses without just compensation . Ev- ansville & C. R. Co. v. Dick, 9 Ind. 433. 2. To obtain or assume possession of a chattel unlawfully, and without the owner’s consent; to appropriate things to one’s own use with felonious intent. Thus, an actual taking is essential to constitute larceny. 4 Bl. Comm. 430. 3. To seize or apprehend a person; to arrest the body of a person by virtue of lawful process. Thus, a capias commands the officer to take the body of the defendant 4. To acquire the title to an estate; to receive an estate in lands from another per- son by virtue of some species of title. Thus, one is said to “take by purchase,” “take by descent,” “take a life-interest under the devise,” etc. 5. To receive the verdict of a jury; to superintend the delivery of a verdict; to hold a court. The commission of assize in England empowers the judges to take the assizes; that is, according to its ancient meaning, to take the verdict of a peculiar species of jury called an “assize;” but, in its present meaning, “to hold the assizes.” 3 Bl. Comm. 59, 185.
Black’s Law Online Dictionary
