forensic

English

WOTD – 3 September 2008

Alternative forms

• forensick (obsolete)

Etymology

From Latin forēnsis (“of the forum, public”) +‎ -ic, from forum (“forum, marketplace”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fəˈɹɛn.zɪk/, /fəˈɹɛn.sɪk/

• Audio (US); /fəˈɹɛn.zɪk/:

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• Audio (US); /fəˈɹɛn.sɪk/:

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• Audio (General Australian):

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Adjective

forensic (not comparable)

1. Relating to the use of science and technology in the investigation and establishment of facts or evidence in a court of law.
   • 2012 August 21, Ed Pilkington, “Death penalty on trial: should Reggie Clemons live or die?”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     In this account of events, the cards were stacked against Clemons from the beginning. His appeal lawyers have argued that he was physically beaten into making a confession, the jury was wrongfully selected and misdirected, and his conviction largely achieved on individual testimony with no supporting forensic evidence presented.

   • 1996 June 8, Bill Clinton, Weekly Presidential radio Address:

     Fire investigators […] and forensic chemists are combing through fire sites [the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing], interviewing witnesses, and following leads.

2. (informal) Precise, thorough, or highly meticulous, by analogy with a scientific legal investigation
   • A forensic account of history
   • With forensic precision
3. (dated) Relating to, or appropriate for, courts of law.
   • 1885, Isaac N. Arnold, “Chapter VIII”, in The Life of Abraham Lincoln:

     It [the judiciary] had been the forum before which the highest forensic discussions had been held, […]

4. (archaic) Relating to, or used in, debate or argument.
   • 1851, Edward Shepherd Creasy, “Chapter V”, in The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World:

     Varus trusted implicitly […] to the interest which they affected to take in the forensic eloquence of their conquerors.

Synonyms

• (Related or appropriate for a court of law): legal
• (Related or used in debate and argumentation): rhetorical

Derived terms

• antiforensic
• cyberforensic
• deforensic
• forensic accountancy
• forensic accountant
• forensic accounting
• forensically
• forensicate
• forensic biology
• forensic engineering
• forensicist
• forensic linguistics
• forensic medicine
• forensics
• forensic science

 

Related terms

• forensal
• forensical
• forensive

Translations

relating to the use of science and technology in the investigation and establishment of facts or evidence in a court of law

• Catalan: forense (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 法醫的／法医的 (zh) (fǎyī de)

• Czech: forenzní (cs)
• Dutch: forensisch (nl), gerechtelijk (nl), gerechts-
• Finnish: rikostekninen, oikeuslääketieteellinen
• French: médicolégal (fr), légal (fr) (in médecine légale), (anglicism) forensique (fr) m or f
• German: forensisch (de)
• Greek: δικανικός (el) (dikanikós), εγκληματολογικός (el) (egklimatologikós)
• Hungarian: törvényszéki (hu), igazságügyi (hu)
• Icelandic: réttar-
• Italian: medico-legale (it)
• Japanese: 法医学の (ja) (ほういがくの, hōigaku no)
• Marathi: न्यायवैद्यकीय (nyāyvaidyakīy)
• Polish: kryminalistyczny (pl) m, sądowy (pl) m
• Portuguese: forense (pt)
• Russian: суде́бно-медици́нский (ru) (sudébno-medicínskij), суде́бный (ru) (sudébnyj)
• Spanish: forense (es)
• Swedish: forensisk (sv)
• Turkish: adli (tr)
• Vietnamese: pháp y (vi)

relating to, or appropriate for courts of law

• Armenian: դատական (hy) (datakan)
• Bulgarian: съдебен (sǎdeben)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 法庭的 (zh) (fǎtíng de)

• Dutch: gerechtelijk (nl)
• Finnish: oikeudellinen (fi)
• French: légal (fr), juridique (fr)
• German: gerichtlich (de), Gerichts-
• Greek: δικανικός (el) (dikanikós), εγκληματολογικός (el) (egklimatologikós)
• Italian: giudiziario (it)
• Japanese: 法廷の (ja) (ほうていの, hōtei no) (adnominal)
• Marathi: न्यायवैद्यकीय (nyāyvaidyakīy)
• Polish: sądowy (pl) m
• Portuguese: forense (pt)
• Russian: суде́бный (ru) (sudébnyj)
• Spanish: legal (es)
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

relating to, or used in debate or argument

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 辯論的／辩论的 (zh) (biànlùn de)

• Dutch: retorisch (nl)
• Finnish: oikeudellinen (fi)
• French: de barreau (fr), rhétorique (fr)
• German: rhetorisch (de)
• Greek: ρητορικός (el) m (ritorikós)
• Italian: legale (it)
• Japanese: 討論の (ja) (とうろんの, tōron no), 弁論の (ja) (べんろんの, benron no)
• Polish: oratorski m
• Portuguese: retórico (pt)
• Russian: ритори́ческий (ru) (ritoríčeskij)
• Spanish: retórico (es)
• Vietnamese: biện luận (vi)

Anagrams

• conifers, fir-cones, forinsec, fornices, inforces