lese majesty
noun
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lese majesty
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lese-majesty
lese-majestynounany of various offences committed against the sovereign power in a state; treason
lese majesty
American
[lez, leez maj-uh-stee]
/ ˈlɛz, ˈliz ˈmædʒ ə sti /
Also
lèse majesty,
noun
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Law.
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a crime, especially high treason, committed against the sovereign power.
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an offense that violates the dignity of a ruler.
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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.
lese-majesty
British
/ ˈliːzˈmædʒɪstɪ /
noun
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any of various offences committed against the sovereign power in a state; treason
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an attack on authority or position
Etymology
Origin of lese majesty
First recorded in 1450–1500 in spelling lese mageste; current spelling dates from 1785–80; partial translation of Anglo-French, Middle French lese majesté, leze magesté, from Latin (crīmen) laesae mājestātis “(the crime) of injured majesty” (originally against the Roman people, later against the emperor)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
No Japanese businessman has ever tried to use the crest as a trademark, but a prewar Diet candidate once distributed sweet cakes decorated with a chrysanthemum and was promptly jailed for botanical lese majesty.
From Time Magazine Archive
Before World War I, it dabbed acid fun at Kaiser Wilhelm II, and for its lese majesty was frequently banned.
From Time Magazine Archive
Some claimed their own steam plants were cheaper � almost lese majesty in the Columbia River Valley.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Indians are now seeking redress in a legal court instead of a royal one, so last week Snow and his colleagues decided not to commit lese majesty.
From Time Magazine Archive
It was further ordained under pain of lese majesty, that no true and faithful lieges taken by these men should be holden to enter to them, all bonds to the contrary notwithstanding.
From Border Raids and Reivers by Borland, Robert
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
