pardon

See also: Pardon and pardön

English

Etymology

From Middle English pardonen, from Old French pardoner (modern French pardonner), from Vulgar Latin *perdonare, from per- + donare, a loan-translation of a Germanic word represented by Frankish *firgeban (“to forgive, give up completely”), from fir- + geban. Akin to Old High German fargeban, firgeban (“to forgive”), Old English forġiefan (“to forgive”). More at forgive.

Pronunciation

• (Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈpɑɹ.dən/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɑːdən/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈpɑɹ.dn̩/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː(r)dən

Noun

pardon (plural pardons)

1. Forgiveness for an offence.
   • 1748: Samuel Richardson, Clarissa

     a step, that could not be taken with the least hope of ever obtaining pardon from or reconciliation with any of my friends;

2. (law) An order that releases a convicted criminal without further punishment, prevents future punishment, or (in some jurisdictions) removes an offence from a person's criminal record, as if it had never been committed.
   • 1974: President Gerald Ford, Proclamation 4311

     I... have granted and by these presents do grant a full, free, and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon for all offenses against the United States ...

Derived terms

• I beg your pardon

Translations

forgiveness for an offence

• American Sign Language: BentB@BaseHand-PalmDown-OpenB@CenterSternumhigh-UlnarAcross BentB@TipHand-PalmDown-OpenB@CenterSternumhigh-UlnarAcross
• Arabic: إِبْرَاء‎‎ m (ʾibrāʾ), إِعْفَاء‎‎ m (ʾiʿfāʾ)
• Belarusian: прабачэ́нне n (prabačénnje), дарава́нне n (daravánnje)
• Bulgarian: опроще́ние (bg) n (oprošténie)
• Catalan: perdó (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 原諒 (zh), 原谅 (zh) (yuánliàng)

• Czech: odpuštění n
• Esperanto: pardono
• Finnish: anteeksianto (fi)
• French: pardon (fr) m
• Georgian: პატიება (ṗaṭieba)
• German: Vergebung (de) f, Verzeihung (de) f
• Greek: συγγνώμη (el) f (syngnómi), συχώρεση (el) f (sychóresi)

  Ancient Greek: συγγνώμη f (sungnṓmē)

• Hebrew: סְלִיחָה‎‎ (he) f (s'likhá), מְחִילָה‎‎ (he) f (m'khilá)
• Hungarian: bocsánat (hu)
• Italian: perdono (it)
• Japanese: 許し (ゆるし, yurushi)
• Korean: 용서 (ko) (yongseo)
• Manx: maihnys m
• Maori: murunga
• Norwegian: tilgivelse
• Polish: przebaczenie (pl) n, wybaczenie (pl) n, darowanie (pl) n
• Portuguese: perdão (pt) m
• Russian: проще́ние (ru) n (proščénije)
• Slovak: odpustenie n
• Spanish: perdón (es) m
• Ukrainian: проще́ння n (proščénnja), ви́бачення n (výbačennja), проба́чення n (probáčennja), дарува́ння n (daruvánnja)

releasing order

• American Sign Language: BentB@BaseHand-PalmDown-OpenB@CenterSternumhigh-UlnarAcross BentB@TipHand-PalmDown-OpenB@CenterSternumhigh-UlnarAcross
• Arabic: عَفْو‎‎ m (ʿafw), صَفْح‎‎ m (ṣafḥ)
• Belarusian: памíлаванне n (pamílavannje)
• Bulgarian: поми́лване (bg) n (pomílvane)
• Catalan: perdó (ca) m, indult (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 赦免 (zh) (shèmiǎn)

• Czech: milost (cs) f
• Finnish: armahdus (fi)
• French: grâce (fr) f
• Georgian: შეწყალება (šec̣q̇aleba)
• German: Begnadigung (de) f
• Greek: αμνηστεία f (amnisteía), χάρη (el) f (chári)

• Hungarian: kegyelem (hu)
• Japanese: 赦免 (ja) (しゃめん, shamen), 恩赦 (おんしゃ, onsha), 勘弁 (かんべん, kanben)
• Korean: 은사 (eunsa)
• Norwegian: benådning
• Polish: łaska (pl) f
• Portuguese: indulto (pt) m, absolvição (pt) f
• Russian: поми́лование (ru) n (pomílovanije)
• Slovak: milosť n
• Spanish: indulto (es) m
• Swedish: benådning (sv) c, benådan c, amnesti (sv) c
• Thai: อภัยโทษ (à-pai-yá-tôot)
• Ukrainian: поми́лування n (pomýluvannja)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Hebrew: חנינה (ĥanina) f

• Kurdish: ^{(please verify)} به‌خشین‎‎ (ku) (bexşîn), ^{(please verify)} لێبووران‎‎ (lêbûran)

Verb

pardon (third-person singular simple present pardons, present participle pardoning, simple past and past participle pardoned)

1. (transitive) To forgive.
   • 1599: William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

     O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, / That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!

   • 1815: Jane Austen, Emma

     I hope you will not find he has outstepped the truth more than may be pardoned, in consideration of the motive.

   • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 1, in The Celebrity:

     In the old days, to my commonplace and unobserving mind, he gave no evidences of genius whatsoever. He never read me any of his manuscripts, […], and therefore my lack of detection of his promise may in some degree be pardoned.

2. (transitive) To refrain from exacting as a penalty.
   • Shakespeare

     I pardon thee thy life before thou ask it.

3. (transitive, law) To grant an official pardon for a crime; unguilt.
   • 1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, The House Behind the Cedars, Chapter I,

     The murderer, he recalled, had been tried and sentenced to imprisonment for life, but was pardoned by a merciful governor after serving a year of his sentence.

Derived terms

• pardonable
• pardoner
• pardon me
• pardon my French
• unpardonable

Translations

to forgive

• Arabic: عَفَا‎‎ (ʿafā), غَفَرَ‎‎ (ḡafara)
• Catalan: perdonar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 原諒 (zh), 原谅 (zh) (yuánliàng), 寬恕 (zh), 宽恕 (zh) (kuānshù)

• Finnish: antaa anteeksi
• French: pardonner (fr)
• Georgian: პატიება (ṗaṭieba)
• German: verzeihen (de), vergeben (de)
• Japanese: 許す (ja) (ゆるす, yurusu)
• Latin: dono (la), condono
• Maori: muru

• Norwegian: tilgi (no)
• Portuguese: perdoar (pt)
• Russian: проща́ть (ru) impf (proščátʹ), прости́ть (ru) pf (prostítʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: math
• Spanish: perdonar (es)
• Swedish: förlåta (sv)
• Telugu: క్షమించు (te) (kṣamiñcu)
• Vietnamese: tha thứ (vi)
• Volapük: pardön (vo)
• Yiddish: אַנטשולדיקן‎‎ (antshuldikn)

to grant an official pardon

• Arabic: عَفَا‎‎ (ʿafā), عَذَرَ‎‎ (ʿaḏara)
• Catalan: perdonar (ca), indultar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 赦免 (zh) (shèmiǎn)

• Dutch: gratiëren (nl)
• Esperanto: amnestii
• Finnish: armahtaa (fi)
• French: pardonner (fr), gracier (fr)
• Georgian: შეწყალება (šec̣q̇aleba)

• German: begnadigen (de)
• Japanese: 赦免する (ja) (しゃめんする, shamen-surú), 容赦する (ようしゃする, yōsha-surú), 勘弁する (かんべんする, kanben-surú)
• Norwegian: benåde
• Portuguese: indultar, absolver (pt)
• Russian: поми́ловать (ru) (pomílovatʹ)
• Spanish: indultar (es)
• Swedish: benåda
• Thai: อภัยโทษ (à-pai-yá-tôot)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Arabic: ^{(please verify)} اذن‎‎
• French: ^{(please verify)} grâce (fr)

• Ido: ^{(please verify)} indulgo (io)
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} förlåta (sv), ^{(please verify)} ursäkta (sv)

Interjection

Pardon?

1. Often used when someone does not understand what another person says.

   Pardon?, What did you say?, Can you say that again?

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:say again

Translations

interjection, request to repeat

• Arabic: عَفْواً!‎‎ (ʿafwan!), (to a male) مَاذَا قُلْتَ؟‎‎ (māḏā qulta?), (to a female) مَاذَا قُلْتِ؟‎‎ (māḏā qulti?)
• Catalan: perdó (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 請再說一遍 (zh), 请再说一遍 (zh) (qǐng zàishuō yī biàn), 什么 (zh) (shénme), 什麼 (zh)

• Danish: hvadbehager, hvad (da), undskyld mig
• Finnish: anteeksi (fi)?, anteeksi kuinka?, mitä (fi)? (colloquial)
• French: désolé (fr), excusez-moi (fr), excuse-moi, pardon?, comment?, (plain) quoi (fr)
• Georgian: ბატონო? (baṭono?), უკაცრავად? (uḳacravad?)
• German: pardon?, was? (colloquial), wie? (colloquial), wie bitte?
• Greenlandic: qanoq?
• Hebrew: סְלִיחָה‎‎ (he) f (s'likhá)

• Icelandic: ha? (is), hvað sagðirðu?
• Italian: come (it)
• Japanese: (polite) はい? (ja) (hai?) ; (plain) 何? (ja) (なに?, nani?), え? (ja) (e?)
• Korean: 네? (ko) (ne?)
• Persian: ببخشید‎‎ (bebakhšid), معذرت می‌خواهم‎‎ (ma'zerat mi-xâham)
• Portuguese: perdão? (pt), como? (pt)
• Romanian: poftim (ro) n, pardon (ro)
• Russian: прошу́ проще́ния (prošú proščénija), что вы сказа́ли (što vy skazáli)?, (plain) что? (ru) (što?) (read: što)
• Spanish: ¿cómo (es)?, ¿perdón (es)?, ¿ah (es)? (Colombia, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, colloquial), ¿eh (es)? (Cuba, Spain, colloquial), ¿mande (es)? (Mexico, colloquial)
• Swedish: ursäkta (sv)?, förlåt (sv)?, va (sv)? (highly colloquial)

Anagrams

• Padron

---

Czech

Alternative forms

• pardón

Interjection

pardon

1. sorry, I'm sorry, I beg your pardon, I apologize

Synonyms

• omlouvám se, promiňte, promiň, sorry, soráč

Further reading

• pardon in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• pardon in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

---

French

Etymology

Deverbal of pardonner.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /paʁ.dɔ̃/

• audio (France)

  (file)

• audio (Quebec)

  (file)

Interjection

pardon

1. excuse me
2. sorry

Descendants

• Bulgarian: пардон́ (pardoń, “colloquial”)
• Czech: pardón (“colloquial”)

• English: pardon
• Russian: пардон́ (pardoń, “colloquial”)

Noun

pardon m (plural pardons)

1. pardon, forgiveness

Further reading

• “pardon” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• pondra

---

Hungarian

Etymology

From French pardon.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /parˈdon/

Interjection

pardon

1. pardon!, pardon me!, excuse me!, I beg your pardon!, sorry!

---

Romanian

Etymology

From French pardon.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /parˈdon/

Interjection

pardon

1. pardon!, pardon me!, excuse me!, I beg your pardon!, sorry!

Noun

pardon n (uncountable)

1. (dated) pardon, pardoning, forgiveness, excuse

Synonyms

• iertare, scuză

See also

• poftim

---

Swedish

Noun

pardon c

1. mercy

Synonyms

• nåd

---

Turkish

Etymology

Borrowed from French pardon.

Interjection

pardon

1. pardon!, pardon me!, excuse me!, I beg your pardon!, sorry!