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felon

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: félon and felón

English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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The adjective is derived from Middle English feloun, felun (base, wicked; hostile; of an animal: dangerous; of words: angry, harsh, slanderous; of things: dangerous, deadly; false, fraudulent; unlucky) [and other forms],[1] from Old French felon (bad, evil, immoral) (compare fel (evil; despicable, vile)), from Early Medieval Latin fellōnem; further etymology uncertain.

Doublet of fell (“of a strong and cruel nature; fierce; grim; ruthless, savage”).

Sense 3 (“obtained through a felony”) is derived from the noun.

The noun is derived from Middle English feloun, felun (criminal, specifically one who has committed a felony, felon; cruel, hostile, violent, etc., person; deceiver; evildoer, monster, sinner; traitor; bold or fierce warrior; deceit, falseness; wickedness, wrongdoing; treachery) [and other forms],[2] from feloun, felun (adjective): see above.

Adjective

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felon

  1. (chiefly poetic) Of a person or animal, their actions, thoughts, etc.: brutal, cruel, harsh, heartless; also, evil, wicked.
  2. (by extension) Of a place: harsh, savage, wild; of a thing: deadly; harmful.
  3. (obsolete, rare) Obtained through a felony; stolen.
    • 1631, Thomas Fuller, “Davids Hainous Sinne. Stanza 19.”, in Davids Hainous Sinne. Heartie Repentance. Heavie Punishment, London: [] Tho[mas] Cotes, for Iohn Bellamie, [], →OCLC; republished London: Basil Montagu Pickering, [], 1869, →OCLC, signature [A7], verso:
      Thus hee that conquer’d men, and beaſt moſt cruell, / (VVhoſe greedy pavves, vvith fellon goods vvere found) / Anſvver’d Goliah’s challenge in a duell, / And layd the Giant groveling on the ground: []
Translations
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Noun

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felon (plural felons)

  1. (criminal law) A person who has committed a felony (serious criminal offence); specifically, one who has been tried and convicted of such a crime.
  2. (obsolete) An evil or wicked person; also (by extension) a predatory animal regarded as cruel or wicked.
Hypernyms
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Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 2

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From Middle English feloun, felone (type of carbuncle or sore with pus; swelling on a hawk’s body),[3] possibly from Old French *felon, from Latin fel (bile, gall; bitterness; poison; venom): see etymology 1.[4]

Noun

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felon (plural felons)

  1. (pathology, veterinary medicine) A small infected sore; an abscess, a boil; specifically, a whitlow (infection near or under the cuticle of a fingernail or toenail).
Translations
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References

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  1. ^ felǒun, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. ^ felǒun, n.(1)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  3. ^ felǒun, n.(2)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  4. ^ felon, n.2”, in OED Online Paid subscription required, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2023; felon2, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Esperanto

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Noun

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felon

  1. accusative singular of felo

Old French

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Early Medieval Latin fellōnem. The subject case is fel, from the nominative fellō.

Noun

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felon oblique singularm (oblique plural felons, nominative singular fel, nominative plural felon)[1][2]

  1. evildoer, wrongdoer
  2. immoral person
  3. bastard, idiot (a general pejorative)

Usage notes

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In later Old French, 'felon' was also used as nominative singular.[3]

Adjective

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felon m (oblique and nominative feminine singular felone)

  1. evil, bad, immoral
  2. cruel, vicious
  3. vile, despicable

Declension

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This entry needs an inflection-table template.

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Descendants

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References

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  1. ^ Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (1. felon)
  2. ^ felun_1 on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub
  3. ^ Fello in: Diez, Friedrich (1887), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Sprachen

Romanian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Old Church Slavonic фелонь (felonĭ), from Ancient Greek φελόνιον (phelónion).

Noun

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felon n (plural feloane)

  1. cape worn by the priest over the liturgical garments

Declension

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singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative-accusative felon felonul feloane feloanele
genitive-dative felon felonului feloane feloanelor
vocative felonule feloanelor