Arson
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The crime of deliberately starting a fire with intent to cause damage. uncountable, usually
"Arson, like we thought. three punks doused a car, lit it, and took off."
- 2 A saddlebow. obsolete
"The kyng of Englande mounted on a freſhe courſer, the trapper of clothe of golde, of Tiſſue, the Arſon mantell wiſe[…]"
- 3 malicious burning to destroy property wordnet
- 1 To illegally set fire to; to burn down in a criminal manner. India, transitive
Example
More examples"In Germany today, anti-violence rallies took place in several cities, including one near Hamburg where three Turks were killed in an arson attack on Monday."
Etymology
From Anglo-Norman and Old French arson, from the verb ardoir, from Latin ardeō (“to burn”). Compare ardent.
From Middle English arsoun, from Old French arçon, from Vulgar Latin *arciō (“saddlebow”), from Latin arcus (“bow”); compare Italian arcione, Portuguese arção, and Spanish arzón.
Related phrases
More for "arson"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.