Where does “indictment” come from?
Indictment comes from Middle English endytement, from Anglo-Norman enditement, from Old French enditer, from Late Latin indicto, from Latin indictus, the past participle of indicere meaning to declare or proclaim.
indictment (English): An official formal accusation for a criminal...
Definitions
- An official formal accusation for a criminal...
Ancestry of “indictment”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | endytement | action of accusing |
| 2 | Anglo-Norman | enditement | — |
| 3 | Old French | enditer | Alternative form of enditier |
| 4 | Late Latin | indicto | dative masculine singular of indictus; dative... |
| 5 | Latin | indictus | declared, proclaimed, published, announced,... |
| 6 | Latin | dictus | said, uttered; mentioned, spoken, having been... |
| 7 | Latin | dīcō | to say, talk, speak, utter, mention |
| 8 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 9 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 10 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 11 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 12 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 13 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 14 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |