lese majesty
[lez, leez]
- Law.
- a crime, especially high treason, committed against the sovereign power.
- an offense that violates the dignity of a ruler.
- an attack on any custom, institution, belief, etc., held sacred or revered by numbers of people: Her speech against Mother's Day was criticized as lese majesty.
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Also lèse majesty, lèse maj·es·té [lez mah-juh-stey; lez maj-uh-stee, leez] /ˈlɛz ˌmɑ dʒəˈsteɪ; ˈlɛz ˈmædʒ ə sti, ˈliz/.
Origin of lese majesty
1530–40; < French lèse-majesté, after Latin (crīmen) laesae mājestātis (the crime) of injured majesty
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for lese-majesty
Historical Examples
They have conquered you already, as they boast, for the crime of lese-majesty has placed you at their mercy.
The Rise of the Dutch Republic, Volume III.(of III) 1574-84John Lothrop Motley
Got to have a finger in some political pie, and political pies in Russia before the war were lese-majesty.
The Drums Of JeopardyHarold MacGrath
How could they, when they saw in the temper of the people too plain proofs that their lese-majesty had borne evil fruit?
The Expositor's Bible:The Book of NumbersRobert A. Watson
lese-majesty
- any of various offences committed against the sovereign power in a state; treason
- an attack on authority or position
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Word Origin
C16: from French lèse majesté, from Latin laesa mājestās wounded majesty
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for lese-majesty
n.
"offense against sovereign authority, treason," 1530s (mid-15c. as an Anglo-French word), from French lèse-majesté, from Latin laesa majestos "violated majesty," from laesus, past participle of laedere "to hurt, injure, damage, offend, insult," of unknown origin.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper