Someone who has been found guilty of felony murder is an example of a felon.
- Obs. a villain
- Law a person guilty of a major crime; criminal
Origin of felonMiddle English from Old French from Medieval Latin felo, earlier fello from uncertain or unknown; perhaps
Origin of felonMiddle English from uncertain or unknown; perhaps same base as felon
- Law One who has committed a felony.
- Archaic An evil person.
Origin of felonMiddle English feloun from Old French felon wicked, a wicked person from Medieval Latin fellō fellōn- possibly of Germanic origin
Origin of felonMiddle English feloun probably from Latin fel gall, bile ; see ghel-2 in Indo-European roots.
Middle English felun, feloun, from Anglo-Norman felun (“traitor, wretch”), 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”).
- (medicine) A bacterial infection at the end of a finger or toe.
Probably from Latin fel (“gall, poison”).
felon - Legal Definition