mayhem

[ mey-hem, mey-uhm ]
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noun
  1. Law. the crime of willfully inflicting a bodily injury on another so as to make the victim less capable of self-defense or, under modern statutes, so as to cripple or mutilate the victim.

  2. random or deliberate violence or damage.

  1. a state of rowdy disorder: Antagonisms between the various factions at the meeting finally boiled over, and mayhem ensued.

Origin of mayhem

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English maheym, maim, from Anglo-French mahe(i)m, mahaim, from Germanic; akin to Middle High German meidem “gelding,” Old Norse meitha “to injure”; see maim

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British Dictionary definitions for mayhem

mayhem

maihem

/ (ˈmeɪhɛm) /


noun
  1. law the wilful and unlawful infliction of injury upon a person, esp (formerly) the injuring or removing of a limb rendering him less capable of defending himself against attack

  2. any violent destruction or confusion

Origin of mayhem

1
C15: from Anglo-French mahem injury, from Germanic; related to Icelandic meitha to hurt. See maim

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