Power dynamically considered, that is, in motion or in action; constraining power, compulsion; strength directed to an end. Usually the word occurs in such connections as to show that unlawful or wrongful action is meant. Watson v. Railway Co. 7 Misc. Rep. 562, 28 N. Y. Supp. 84; Plank Road Co. v. Robbins, 22 Barb. (N. Y.)667.
Unlawful violence. It is either simple, as entering upon another’s possession, without doing any other unlawful act; compound, when some other violence is committed, which of itself alone is criminal; or implied, as in every trespass, rescous, or disseisin.
Power statically considered; that is at rest or latent, but capable of being called into activity upon occasion for its exercise. Efficacy; legal validity. This is the meaning when we say that a statute or a contract is “in force.”
In old English law. A technical term applied to a species of accessary before the fact.
In Scotch law. Coercion; duress. Bell. Force and arms. A phrase used in declarations of trespass and in indictments, but now unnecessary in declarations, to denote that the act complained of was done with violence. 2 Chit PI. ?46, 850. Force and fear, called also “vi mctuque,” means that any contract or act extorted under the pressure of force (vis) or under the influence of fear (metus) is voidable on that ground, provided, of course, that the force or the fear was such as influenced the party. Brown. Forces. The military and naval power of the country.