Felony
- Felony
In feudal law, any grave violation of the feudal contract between lord and vassal. Later it was expanded in common law to include any crime against the King's peace, and has come to mean any serious crime.
Example: Murder is now a Felony, taking the burden of prosecution from the victim's family and giving it to the crown.
♦ A serious crime such as murder, arson, rape, highway robbery: the convicted felon forfeits lands and goods and is sentenced to lose "life or member".
(Hogue, Arthur R. Origins of the Common Law, 256)
Medieval glossary.
2014.
:
Look at other dictionaries:
felony — fel·o·ny / fe lə nē/ n pl nies: a crime that has a greater punishment imposed by statute than that imposed on a misdemeanor; specif: a federal crime for which the punishment may be death or imprisonment for more than a year see also attainder,… … Law dictionary
Felony — Fel o*ny, n.; pl. {Felonies}. [OE. felonie cruelty, OF. felonie, F. f[ e]lonie treachery, malice. See {Felon}, n.] 1. (Feudal Law) An act on the part of the vassal which cost him his fee by forfeiture. Burrill. [1913 Webster] 2. (O.Eng.Law) An… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
felony — fel‧o‧ny [ˈfeləni] noun felonies PLURALFORM [countable, uncountable] LAW a serious crime such as murder: • Citizens had a legal duty to reveal felonies known to them. • He will answer charges of felony. • The U.S. Attorney s Office indicted the… … Financial and business terms
Felony — Allgemeine Informationen Genre(s) Symphonic Metal Gründung 1990 Website http://www.felony.ch … Deutsch Wikipedia
Felony — Surnom Felany, Violet, Melani, Felicity, MissDemeanor, Mariah Naissance 13 janvier 1969 Phoenix Nationalité(s) … Wikipédia en Français
felony — late 13c. as a term in common law, in Anglo Fr., from O.Fr. felonie (12c.) wickedness, evil, treachery, perfidy, crime, cruelty, sin, from Gallo Rom. *fellonia, from fellonem (see FELON (Cf. felon)) … Etymology dictionary
felony — [n] crime arson, assault, burglary, criminal offense, foul play, murder, offense, rape, robbery, violation, wrongdoing; concept 192 … New thesaurus
felony — ► NOUN (pl. felonies) ▪ a crime, typically one involving violence, regarded in the US and other judicial systems as more serious than a misdemeanour. DERIVATIVES felonious adjective feloniously adverb … English terms dictionary
felony — [fel′ə nē] n. pl. felonies [ME felonie < OFr < ML felonia, treason, treachery < felo, FELON1] a major crime, as murder, arson, or rape, for which statute usually provides a greater punishment than for a misdemeanor: the usual minimum… … English World dictionary
Felony — For other uses, see Felony (disambiguation). Criminal law … Wikipedia
felony — noun (AmE) ADJECTIVE ▪ federal ▪ serious ▪ first degree, second degree, third degree ▪ aggravated ▪ … Collocations dictionary
