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Webster 1913 Edition

Felon

Fel′on

,
Noun.
[OE., adj., cruel,
Noun.
, villain, ruffian, traitor, whitlow, F.
félon
traitor, in OF. also, villain, fr. LL.
felo
. See Fell,
Adj.
]
1.
(Law)
A person who has committed a felony.
2.
A person guilty or capable of heinous crime.
Syn. – Criminal; convict; malefactor; culprit.

Fel′on

,
Adj.
Characteristic of a felon; malignant; fierce; malicious; cruel; traitorous; disloyal.
Vain shows of love to vail his felon hate.
Pope.

Webster 1828 Edition

Felon

FEL'ON

,
Noun.
[Low L. felo.]
1.
In law, a person who has committed felony. [See Felony.]
2.
A whitlow; a painful swelling formed in the periosteum at the end of the finger.

FEL'ON

,
Adj.
1.
Malignant; fierce; malicious; proceeding from a depraved heart.
Vain shows of love to vail his felon hate.
2.
Traitorous; disloyal.

Definition 2025

felon

felon

See also: félon and felón

English

Noun

felon ‎(plural felons)

  1. A person who has committed a felony.
    • 1859, Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, James Nisbet & Company (1902), Book 3, Chapter 6, page 340:
      Looking at the Jury and the turbulent audience, he might have thought that the usual order of things was reversed, and that the felons were trying the honest men.
  2. (law) A person who has been tried and convicted of a felony.
Synonyms
Related terms
Translations

Etymology 2

Probably from Latin fel ‎(“gall, poison”).

Noun

felon ‎(plural felons)

  1. (medicine) A bacterial infection at the end of a finger or toe.

See also

References

  • felon in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Old French

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Medieval Latin fellō, fellōnis, from Frankish *felo ‎(“wicked person”), from Proto-Germanic *fillô, *filjô ‎(“flayer, whipper, scoundrel”), from Proto-Germanic *faluz ‎(“cruel, evil”)

Noun

felon m ‎(oblique plural felons, nominative singular felons, nominative plural felon)

  1. evildoer; wrongdoer
  2. immoral person

Declension

Adjective

felon m ‎(oblique and nominative feminine singular felone)

  1. bastard; idiot (a general pejorative)
  2. evil; bad; immoral
    • 13th century, Unknown, La Vie de Saint Laurent, page 5, column 1, line 7:
      car il voloit le felon tirant

Declension

Related terms

Descendants

References

Etymology

From Middle English felun, feloun, from Anglo-Norman felun ‎(“traitor, wretch”), from Medieval Latin fellō, fellōnis, from Frankish *felo ‎(“wicked person”), from Proto-Germanic *fillô, *filjô ‎(“flayer, whipper, scoundrel”), from Proto-Germanic *faluz ‎(“cruel, evil”) (compare English fell ‎(“fierce”), Middle High German vālant ‎(“imp”)), related to *fellaną (compare Dutch villen, German fillen ‎(“to whip, beat”), both from Proto-Indo-European *pelh₂- ‎(“to stir, move, swing”) (compare Old Irish adellaim 'I seek', diellaim 'I yield', Umbrian pelsatu 'to overcome, conquer', Latin pellere ‎(“to drive, beat”), Latvian lijuôs, plītiês ‎(“to force, impose”), Ancient Greek πέλας ‎(pélas, “near”), πίλναμαι ‎(pílnamai, “I approach”), Old Armenian հալածեմ ‎(halacem, “I pursue”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈfɛlən/
  • Rhymes: -ɛlən

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