mulct
A fine or penalty, especially a pecuniary one.
juries cast up what a wife is worth, / By laying whate'er sum in mulct they please on / The lover, who must pay a handsome price, / Because it is a marketable vice.
Where it comes from
From Middle French mulcter (“to fine, punish”), from Latin mulcta (“penalty, fine”). Possibly a doublet of milk.
Adapted from the Wiktionary entry mulct (CC BY-SA 4.0).