Alfet

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Alfet \Al"fet\, n. [LL. alfetum, fr. AS. [=a]lf[ae]t a pot to
     boil in; [=a]l burning + f[ae]t vat.]
     A caldron of boiling water into which an accused person
     plunged his forearm as a test of innocence or guilt.
     [1913 Webster]



From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  ALFET, obsolete. A vessel in which hot water was put, for the purpose of
  dipping a criminal's arm in it up to the elbow.