mayhem
[mey-hem, mey-uh m]
- 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.
- random or deliberate violence or damage.
- a state of rowdy disorder: Antagonisms between the various factions at the meeting finally boiled over, and mayhem ensued.
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Origin of mayhem
1350–1400; Middle English maheym, maim < Anglo-French mahe(i)m, mahaim < Germanic; akin to Middle High German meidem gelding, Old Norse meitha to injure. See maim
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for mayhem
Contemporary Examples
Trevor Austin, CEO of Finna Rage, denied responsibility for the mayhem in Keene.
Frat Culture Clashes With Riot Police at Keene, N.H., Pumpkin FestivalMelanie Plenda
October 19, 2014
Ex-MMA fighter Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller live-tweeted a standoff with police over domestic violence charges.
The MMA Fighters Have Gone Crazy: ‘Mayhem’ Miller the Latest in a Long Line of Psycho PugilistsRobert Silverman
October 10, 2014
Rwanda and Ethiopia, symbols in the past of death and mayhem, are now among the fastest-growing economies in the world.
Of course there was mayhem there; the whole fight was delayed.
Come with me through 117 pages of euphemisms, bureaucracy, and mayhem.
Up to a Point: I Do My Own Taxes With No Help, Except From a Couple of Bloody MarysP. J. O’Rourke
April 15, 2014
Historical Examples
Something, Mayhem decided, had come up during transmigration.
A Place in the SunC.H. Thames
It did not seem possible, Mayhem thought now, that a mistake could be made.
A Place in the SunC.H. Thames
Mayhem dabbed at his Sirian forehead gratefully, mopping at sweat.
Think Yourself to DeathC.H. Thames
Mayhem's answer was a question, but the question didn't really require an answer.
World Beyond PlutoC. H. Thames
But of course no one knew precisely when Mayhem's services might be required.
World Beyond PlutoC. H. Thames
mayhem
maihem
- 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
- any violent destruction or confusion
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Word Origin
C15: from Anglo-French mahem injury, from Germanic; related to Icelandic meitha to hurt. See maim
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 mayhem
n.
late 15c., from Anglo-French maihem (13c.), from Old French mahaigne "injury, wrong, a hurt, harm, damage;" related to mahaignier "to injure, wound, mutilate, cripple" (see maim). Originally, in law, the crime of maiming a person "to make him less able to defend himself or annoy his adversary" [OED].
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper