indict

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪnˈdaɪt/^[1]

Etymology

It is a respelling, after Medieval Latin indictāre (“to indict”), of inherited from Middle English enditen (“to accuse; to write”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} borrowed from Anglo-Norman enditer (“to accuse, indict”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Old French enditer “to dictate, write, compose”,^[3][4] from Vulgar Latin *indictāre (“to declare, proclaim in writing”),^[4] from in- and Latin dictāre (“to declare, dictate”).^[4][6] It is a doublet of indite.^[2][3][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

To bring a charge against, to accuse (a person) of a crime, especially by legal process (1278 in the OED; about 1303 in Barnhart).^[7][3][4]

Semantic evolution

The Latinized spelling indict was adopted about 1600–26, but the word kept its French-derived pronunciation, rhyming with invite.^[4][3][5] The non-legal senses of the Middle English verb, “to write, compose”, stayed with the older spelling indite.^[4] The sense was perhaps partly confused with Latin indicāre “to point out”.^[4] In modern use indict means especially the formal charge made by a grand jury.^[2][5][6]

Timeline

• 1278 – to accuse of a crime (OED).^[7]
• c. 1303 – endyten (Barnhart).^[3]
• c. 1440 – indyten.^[3]
• 1594 – indictment.^[3]
• c. 1626 – the spelling indict.^[3][5]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. (law) To charge formally with a crime, especially by the finding of a grand jury.
2. To accuse of wrongdoing; to charge or criticize.

Word family

• indictable
• indictment

Related words

• indite
• dictate
• verdict
• interdict

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press