delito

Catalan

Verb

delito

1. first-person singular present indicative of delitar

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈdeː.lɪ.toː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈdɛː.li.to]

Participle

dēlitō

1. dative/ablative masculine/neuter singular of dēlitus

Portuguese

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin dēlīctum.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /deˈli.tu/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /dɨˈli.tu/

• Rhymes: -itu
• Hyphenation: de‧li‧to

Noun

delito m (plural delitos)

1. crime; offense

   Synonym: crime

Related terms

• delinquente

Further reading

• “delito”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “delito”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin dēlīctum. Cognate with English delict.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /deˈlito/ [d̪eˈli.t̪o]
• Rhymes: -ito
• Syllabification: de‧li‧to

Noun

delito m (plural delitos)

1. crime; offense

   Synonyms: crimen, delincuencia

Usage notes

• Delito is a false friend and does not mean delight. The Spanish word for delight is deleite.
• crimen refers to very serious crimes such as murder or assault, delito refers to any violation of the law. In colloquial language they are synonymous.

Derived terms

• cuerpo de delito
• cuerpo del delito
• delito común
• delito de lesa humanidad
• delito grave
• delito leve
• delito menos grave
• delito político

Related terms

• delincuencia
• delincuente
• delinquir

Further reading

• “delito”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025