Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Garnishment \Gar"nish*ment\, n. [Cf. OF. garnissement
   protection, guarantee, warning.]
   1. Ornament; embellishment; decoration. --Sir H. Wotton.

   2. (Law)
      (a) Warning, or legal notice, to one to appear and give
          information to the court on any matter.
      (b) Warning to a person in whose hands the effects of
          another are attached, not to pay the money or deliver
          the goods to the defendant, but to appear in court and
          give information as garnishee.

   3. A fee. See {Garnish}, n., 4.

Source : WordNet®

garnishment
     n : a court order to an employer to withhold all or part of an
         employee's wages and to send the money to the court or to
         the person who won a lawsuit against the employee