crime English · revision 2708

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1250|origins=la crīmen}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kraɪm/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|cryme]],^(Barnhart 1988) [[bor|fro|crime]], crimne “crime, mortal sin”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la|crīmen|t=charge, accusation; fault, offense]] (genitive crīminis),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) probably from [[m|la|cernere|t=to decide, sift]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[ine-pro|*krei-|t=to sieve]], hence “to discriminate”;^(Etymonline) de Vaan accepts this derivation.^(Etymonline) Klein, after Brugmann, rejects it and suggests *cri-men, originally “a cry of distress”,^(Etymonline) and Merriam-Webster compares Old High German scrīan “to cry out”.^(MWU 2024) Latin cernere is also the source of [[discern]], [[concern]] and [[recriminate]].^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Sinfulness, an infraction of the laws of God: about 1250,^(Barnhart 1988) the mid-13th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The early meanings were “wickedness” and “sin”.^(Cresswell 2021)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The legal sense, an offence punishable by law, is from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) first in the Wycliffe Bible in 1382.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) An accusation or charge is from about 1386, now obsolete.^(OED 1989) Any great wickedness is from the 1510s.^(Etymonline) Old English glossed the Latin word with facen, which also meant “deceit, treachery”.^(Etymonline) The verb, “to charge with an offence”, is from 1570, now chiefly military.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002) ''Crime wave'' is American English by 1893.^(Etymonline) ''Crime doesn't pay'' dates from the mid-19th century and became a slogan of the American radio series ''The Shadow'' in the 1930s.^(Cresswell 2021) ''Criminal'' is from about 1400.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1250 – sinfulness.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1382 – an offence punishable by law.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1400 – ''criminal''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1510s – any great wickedness.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1570 – verb, to charge with an offence.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1893 – ''crime wave''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An act, or a failure to act, that breaks a [[law]] and is liable to [[punishment]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Unlawful activity in general.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A serious offence against [[morality]]; a [[sin]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Something foolish or shameful: ''it's a crime to waste food''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(chiefly military)'' To charge with an offence.^(SOED 2002)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[crimeless]]

+ * [[crimelessness]]

+ * [[criminal]]

+ * [[anticrime]]

+ * [[crimogenic]]

+ * [[criminology]]

+ * [[decriminalize]]

+ * [[noncriminal]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[discriminate]]

+ * [[discern]]

+ * [[concern]]

+ * [[recriminate]]

+ * [[certain]]

+ * [[incriminate]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Somerset and Devon dialect ''the crime of the country'' meant the common talk, general gossip.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}