tort
[tawrt]
- a wrongful act, not including a breach of contract or trust, that results in injury to another's person, property, reputation, or the like, and for which the injured party is entitled to compensation.
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Origin of tort
1350–1400; Middle English: injury, wrong < Old French < Medieval Latin tortum wrong, injustice, noun use of neuter of Latin tortus twisted, crooked, dubious, past participle of torquēre to twist, wring
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
offense, immorality, violation, fault, wrong, evil, crime, lust, shortcoming, transgression, guilt, wrongdoing, error, misdeed, grievance, harm, inequity, abuse, slight, biasExamples from the Web for tort
Contemporary Examples
Most companies want expanded free-trade deals and tort reform.
Mystery Solved: Here’s Why Big Business Keeps Supporting Republicans Even as Republicans Destroy the EconomyDaniel Gross
October 3, 2013
Maybe they'd have saved Medicare Advantage from cuts, gotten some sort of tort reform thrown in, or slightly changed the pay-fors.
Many of them instead become the kind of nuisance-lawsuit filer that makes the tort system a costly nightmare.
That's when a tort lawyer-sponsored group called the Audi Victims Network alleged the Audi 5000 accelerated of its own volition.
I was pleased to see President Obama talk about tort reform, banning earmarks, tax simplification, and a spending freeze.
Historical Examples
He has been equally just to the Duc de Guines in his affair with Tort.
"I think—I'm not quite sure—I think that's a tort," said Sam.
The Girl on the BoatPelham Grenville Wodehouse
It was an action on the case (tort), against a common hoyman.
The Common LawOliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Will no one help to pull the tort'ring arrow From his breast?
The Life of Friedrich SchillerThomas Carlyle
If you commit a tort, you are liable to pay a compensatory sum.
The Path of the LawOliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
tort
- law a civil wrong arising from an act or failure to act, independently of any contract, for which an action for personal injury or property damages may be brought
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Word Origin
C14: from Old French, from Medieval Latin tortum, literally: something twisted, from Latin torquēre to twist
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 tort
n.
mid-13c., "injury, wrong," from Old French tort (11c.), from Medieval Latin tortum "injustice," noun use of neuter of tortus "wrung, twisted," past participle of Latin torquere "turn, turn awry, twist, wring, distort" (see thwart). Legal sense of "breach of a duty, whereby someone acquires a right of action for damages" is first recorded 1580s.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper