Pardon
intj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 Forgiveness for an offence. countable, uncountable
"[…] a step, that could not be taken with the least hope of ever obtaining pardon from or reconciliation with any of my friends; […]"
- 2 the act of excusing a mistake or offense wordnet
- 3 An order that releases a convicted criminal without further punishment, prevents future punishment, or (in some jurisdictions) removes an offence from a person's criminal record, as if it had never been committed. countable, uncountable
"The President[…]shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment."
- 4 the formal act of liberating someone wordnet
- 5 a warrant granting release from punishment for an offense wordnet
- 1 To forgive (a person). transitive
"O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, / That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!"
- 2 grant a pardon to wordnet
- 3 To refrain from exacting as a penalty. transitive
"I pardon thee thy life before thou ask it."
- 4 accept an excuse for wordnet
- 5 To grant an official pardon for a crime. transitive
"The murderer, he recalled, had been tried and sentenced to imprisonment for life, but was pardoned by a merciful governor after serving a year of his sentence."
- 1 Often used when someone does not understand what another person says.
Example
More examples"I beg your pardon; I didn't quite catch your name."
Etymology
From Middle English pardonen, from Old French pardoner (modern French pardonner), from Late Latin perdonare, from per- + donare, possibly a calque (if not vice-versa) of a Germanic word represented by Frankish *firgeban (“to forgive, give up completely”), from *fir- + *geban. Akin to Old High German fargeban, firgeban (“to forgive”), Old English forġiefan (“to forgive”). More at forgive.