Vis armata
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary · Walter A. Shumaker and George Foster Longsdorf; ed. James C. Cahill · 1922
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary
In the civil and old English law. Armed force; force exerted by means of arms, weapons, or anything that can hurt or injure. ViS CLANDESTINA (Lat.) In old English law. Clandestine force; such as is used by night. Bracton, fol.
162.