Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Attachment \At*tach"ment\, n. [F. attachment.]
   1. The act attaching, or state of being attached; close
      adherence or affection; fidelity; regard; an? passion of
      affection that binds a person; as, an attachment to a
      friend, or to a party.

   2. That by which one thing is attached to another;
      connection; as, to cut the attachments of a muscle.

            The human mind . . . has exhausted its forces in the
            endeavor to rend the supernatural from its
            attachment to this history.           --I. Taylor.

   3. Something attached; some adjunct attached to an
      instrument, machine, or other object; as, a sewing machine
      attachment (i. e., a device attached to a sewing machine
      to enable it to do special work, as tucking, etc.).

   4. (Giv. Law)
      (a) A seizure or taking into custody by virtue of a legal
          process.
      (b) The writ or percept commanding such seizure or taking.

   Note: The term is applied to a seizure or taking either of
         persons or property. In the serving of process in a
         civil suit, it is most generally applied to the taking
         of property, whether at common law, as a species of
         distress, to compel defendant's appearance, or under
         local statutes, to satisfy the judgment the plaintiff
         may recover in the action. The terms attachment and
         arrest are both applied to the taking or apprehension
         of a defendant to compel an appearance in a civil
         action. Attachments are issued at common law and in
         chancery, against persons for contempt of court. In
         England, attachment is employed in some cases where
         capias is with us, as against a witness who fails to
         appear on summons. In some of the New England States a
         writ of attachment is a species of mesne process upon
         which the property of a defendant may be seized at the
         commencement of a suit and before summons to him, and
         may be held to satisfy the judgment the plaintiff may
         recover. In other States this writ can issue only
         against absconding debtors and those who conceal
         themselves. See {Foreign}, {Garnishment}, {Trustee
         process}. --Bouvier. --Burrill. --Blackstone.

   Syn: {Attachment}, {Affection}.

   Usage: The leading idea of affection is that of warmth and
          tenderness; the leading idea of attachment is that of
          being bound to some object by strong and lasting ties.
          There is more of sentiment (and sometimes of romance)
          in affection, and more of principle in preserving
          attachment. We speak of the ardor of the one, and the
          fidelity of the other. There is another distinction in
          the use and application of these words. The term
          attachment is applied to a wider range of objects than
          affection. A man may have a strong attachment to his
          country, to his profession, to his principles, and
          even to favorite places; in respect to none of these
          could we use the word affection.

Source : WordNet®

attachment
     n 1: a feeling of affection for a person or an institution [syn:
          {fond regard}]
     2: a supplementary part or accessory
     3: a writ authorizing the seizure of property that may be
        needed for the payment of a judgment in a judicial
        proceeding
     4: a connection that fastens things together [syn: {bond}]
     5: faithful support for a religion or cause or political party
        [syn: {adherence}, {adhesion}]
     6: the act of attaching or affixing something [syn: {affixation}]
     7: the act of fastening things together [syn: {fastening}]