Obs. [f. prec.]
1. trans. To do violence to; to violate.
Common in the 17th century.
1612. T. Taylor, Comm. Titus iii. 1. The one was so farre from violencing the other, as one of them could not stand without the other.
1650. trans. Caussin’s Angel Peace, 6. The most Sacred things are violenced, and the most Profane are licenced.
a. 1677. Barrow, Serm. (1686), III. 304. In doing otherwise he would thwart and violence his own conscience, and be self-condemned.
2. To compel or constrain; to force (a person) to or from a place, etc., or to do something, by violence.
1620. Brent, trans. Sarpi’s Counc. Trent, VII. (1676), 618. Shewing there was a desire to violence the Fathers by weariness.
1647. Hammond, Power of Keys, ii. 8. Sure ’twill not be thought reasonable, that these two shall be forced and violenced to consent to that.
1648. Symmons, Vind. Chas. I., 296. They have done what they could to violence him from his Religion.
Hence † Violencing vbl. sb. Obs.
1612. T. Taylor, Comm. Titus i. 6. Christ himself taxeth it as a violencing of the first institution.
a. 1615. Donne, Ess. (1651), 82. The distortions and violencing of Scriptures.
1649. Hammond, Chr. Oblig., etc., 68. A kind of constraining and violencing of the spirit.
