criminal English · revision 3580

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1400|origins=la crīmen}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkrɪm.ɪ.nᵊl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|cryminall]],^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|criminel|t=criminal, despicable]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) and directly [[der|la-lat|crīminālis|t=pertaining to crime]],^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) from [[la|crīmen|t=charge, crime]], genitive crīminis.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) It keeps the Latin -n-.^(Etymonline) See [[crime]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Sinful, wicked: about 1400 in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The OED's first example, of the nature of a crime, is from 1430.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ “Of or relating to a legally punishable offence” is from the mid-15th century,^(Etymonline) and “relating to crime or its punishment” from 1474.^(OED 1989) “Guilty of crime” is from the late 15th century,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and of beasts, “savage, fierce”, from about 1477, now obsolete.^(OED 1989) Criminal law has been distinguished from civil since at least the late 15th century.^(Etymonline) The ''criminal court'', first in Scotland, is from 1597,^(OED 1989) and the ''criminal code'' from 1788.^(OED 1989) The noun, a person who has committed a crime, is from the 1620s^(Etymonline) (1610 in Merriam-Webster, from French criminel).^(MWU 2024) The weakened sense “disgraceful, deplorable”, as in ''a criminal waste'', is colloquial.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1400 – sinful, wicked.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1430 – of the nature of a crime.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1474 – relating to crime.^(OED 1989)

+ * late 15th century – guilty of crime.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1597 – ''criminal court''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1610 – noun, a criminal.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of, involving or being a [[crime]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Relating to the administration of [[penal]] law: ''criminal court''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Guilty of crime.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Shameful; disgraceful: ''a criminal waste of money''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person who has committed, or been convicted of, a crime.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[criminally]]

+ * [[criminogenic]]

+ * [[criminology]]

+ * [[noncriminal]]

+ * [[subcriminal]]

+ * [[supercriminal]]

+ * [[uncriminal]]

+ * [[criminalist]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[crime]]

+ * [[incriminate]]

+ * [[recrimination]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}