Etymology : Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin crimen accusation, reproach, crime; probably akin to Latin cernere to sift, determine
Pronunciation : 'krIm
Function : noun
Date : 14th century
1. illegal act, felony; sin. crime\crime\ (krīm), n.[f. crime, fr. l. crimen judicial decision, that which is subjected to such a decision, charge, fault, crime, fr. the root of cernere to decide judicially. see:
certain.].
2. any violation of law, either divine or human; an omission of a duty commanded, or the commission of an act forbidden by law.
3. gross violation of human law, in distinction from a misdemeanor or trespass, or other slight offense. hence, also, any aggravated offense against morality or the public welfare; any outrage or great wrong. "to part error from crime."note: crimes, in the english common law, are grave offenses which were originally capitally punished (murder, rape, robbery, arson, burglary, and larceny), as distinguished from misdemeanors, which are offenses of a lighter grade. see:
misdemeanors.
4. any great wickedness or sin; iniquity. no crime was thine, if 'tis no crime to love.
5. that which occasion crime. [obs.] the tree of life, the crime of our first father's fall.
6. Any violation of law, either divine or human; an omission of a duty commanded, or the commission of an act forbidden by law.
7. Gross violation of human law, in distinction from a misdemeanor or trespass, or other slight offense.
8. Hence, also, any aggravated offense against morality or the public welfare; any outrage or great wrong.
9. Any great wickedness or sin; iniquity.
10. That which occasion crime. an act punishable by law; usually considered an evil act; "a long record of crimes" an evil act not necessarily punishable by law; "crimes of the heart".
11. 1. A crime is an illegal action or activity for which a person can be punished by law. He and Lieutenant Cassidy were checking the scene of the crime Mr Steele has committed no crime and poses no danger to the public We need a positive programme of crime prevention.
12. disapproval If you say that doing something is a crime, you think it is very wrong or a serious mistake. It would be a crime to travel all the way to Australia and not stop in Sydney. = sin. the intentional commission of an act usually deemed socially harmful or dangerous and specifically defined, prohibited, and punishable under criminal law. Crimes in the common-law tradition were originally defined primarily by judicial decision. Most common-law crimes are now codified. According to a generally accepted principle, nullum crimen sine lege, there can be no crime without a law. A crime generally consists of both conduct (the actus reus) and a concurrent state of mind (the mens rea). Criminal acts include arson, assault and battery, bribery, burglary, child abuse, counterfeiting, embezzlement, extortion, forgery, fraud, hijacking, homicide, kidnapping, perjury, piracy, rape, sedition, smuggling, treason, theft, and usury. See also arrest; conspiracy; criminology; felony and misdemeanour; indictment; rights of the accused; self-incrimination; sentence; statute of limitations; war crime. computer crime hate crime organized crime war crime.