indict

English

Etymology

From Middle English enditen, endyten, from Old French enditer, from Late Latin indictāre, from Latin in- + dictāre. Doublet of indite.

The irregular spelling is due to the word having been borrowed into Middle English from Old French, and not from Latin as was the case with most other descendants of dictāre (but see dight). The borrowed /iː/ regularly shifted to /aɪ/ in the course of the Great Vowel Shift; the "c" represents a later attempt at graphic Latinisation.

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -aɪt
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˌɪnˈdaɪt/
  • (file)
  • Homophone: indite

Verb

indict (third-person singular simple present indicts, present participle indicting, simple past and past participle indicted)

  1. To accuse of wrongdoing; charge.
    a book that indicts modern values
  2. (law) To make a formal accusation or indictment for a crime against (a party) by the findings of a jury, especially a grand jury.
    his former manager was indicted for fraud

Derived terms

Translations

See also

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