tort en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- tô(ɹ)t (General-American)
- /tɔːt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /tɔɹt/ (General-American)
- (General-American) audio
- (Received-Pronunciation) audio
Etymology
From Middle English tort (“(uncountable) wrong; (countable) an injury, a wrong”), from Old French tort (“misdeed, wrong”) (modern French tort (“an error, wrong; a fault”)), from Medieval Latin tortum (“injustice, wrong”), a noun use of a neuter singular participle form of Latin tortus (“crooked; twisted”), the perfect passive participle of torqueō (“to bend or twist awry, distort”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *terkʷ- (“to spin; to turn”). Cognates * Galician torto (“(adjective) bent; crooked; twisted; (noun, archaic) harm, offence; injustice, wrong, tort”) * Italian torto (“(adjective) bent; crooked; twisted; (noun, archaic) injustice, wrong”) * Norwegian Bokmål tort (dated, now only in fixed expressions) * Norwegian Nynorsk tort (dated, now only in fixed expressions) * Occitan tort * Old French tort (modern French tort) * Portuguese torto (“(adjective) bent; crooked; twisted; (noun, archaic) harm, offence; injustice, wrong”) * Spanish tuerto (“injury, offence”)
Meanings
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A wrongful act, whether intentional or negligent, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury and can be remedied in civil court, usually through the awarding of damages.
A tort is a legal wrong committed upon the person or property independent of contract. It may be either (1) a direct invasion of some legal right of the individual; (2) the infraction of some public duty by which special damage accrues to the individual; (3) the violation of some private obligation by which like damage accrues to the individual.
1891, Henry Campbell Black, “TORT”, in A Dictionary of Law […], St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., →OCLC, page 1178, column 1:[…] Wrong or Iniury, is in French aptly called Tort, becauſe Iniury & wrong is wreſted or crooked, being contrary to that which is right and ſtreight. […] And Britton ſaith that Tort a la ley eſt contrarye [a wrong to the law is contrary], and as aptly for the cauſe aforeſaid is iniury in English called wrong.
[1628, Edw[ard] Coke, “Of Rents”, in The First Part of the Institutes of the Lawes of England. […], London: […] [Adam Islip] for the Societe of Stationers, →OCLC, book 2, chapter 12, section 234, folio 158, verso:Personal actions are ſuch vvhereby a man claims a debt, or perſonal duty, or damages in lieu thereof; and likevviſe vvhereby a man claims a ſatisfaction in damages for ſome injury done to his perſon or property. The former are ſaid to be founded on contracts, the latter upon torts or vvrongs: […] of the latter all actions for treſpaſſes, nuſances, aſſaults, defamatory vvords, and the like.
1768, William Blackstone, “Of Wrongs, and Their Remedies, Respecting the Rights of Persons”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book III (Of Private Wrongs), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 117:
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(obsolete) An injury or wrong.
For no vvild beaſts ſhould do them any torte / There or abroad, ne vvould his maieſtye / Vſe them but vvell, vvith gracious clemencye, / As vvhome he knevv to him both faſt and true; […]
1591, Ed[mund] Sp[enser], “Prosopopoia. Or Mother Hubberds Tale.”, in Complaints. Containing Sundrie Small Poemes of the Worlds Vanitie. […], London: […] William Ponsonbie, […], →OCLC, signature P3, verso:Then gan triumphant Trompets ſovvnd on hye, / That ſent to heuen the ecchoed report / Of their nevv ioy, and happie victory / Gainſt him, that had them long oppreſt with tort, / And faſt impriſoned in ſieged fort.
1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 4, page 172:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| torts | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
tortness · Eurotort · torts · tort law · nontort · toxic tort · quasi-tort
Relateds
tortionary · tortious · tortfeasance · tortfeasor · delict · tortiously · de son tort · cotortfeasor
Synonyms
villainy · error · crime · tort · delict · sin · misdemeanor · tortfeasance · misdoing · transgression · delict · delinquency · offense · malfeasance · wrong · peccadillo · misdeed · wrongdoing · tortfeasance · veniality
Translations (52)
hu vétség (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · ka დელიქტი (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · pl czyn niedozwolony (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · lt deliktų teisė (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · id pelanggaran (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · ca delicte civil (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · tg шабеҳи ҷурм (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · mk пре́кршок (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · ar الضرر في القانون (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · ne अपकृत्य (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · ko 불법행위 (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · hi अपकृत्य (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · nn tort (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · rm act nunlubì (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · nb tort (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · es entuerto (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · es agravio extracontractual (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · tl pamiminsalang sinadya (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · ta பொல்லாக்கு (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · mk пра́во на обесштету́вање (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · th ละเมิด (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · fr délit civil (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · es delito civil (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · fa شبهجرم (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · nl onrechtmatige daad (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · sv ersättningsrätt (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · fi vahingoittaminen (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · pt ato ilícito (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · fi delikti (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · cmn 侵權行為 /侵权行为 (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · ms tort (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · hu magánjogi vétkes cselekmény (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · it illecito civile (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · bn টর্ট (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · pa ਟੋਰਟ (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · es tort (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · gl torto (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · si තෝරත (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · hu sérelem (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · nb erstatningsrett (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · tr haksız fiil (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · hu károkozás (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · fi vahingonteko (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · cy camwedd (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · de unerlaubte Handlung (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · ja 不法行為 (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · da erstatningsret (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · kn ಅಪಕೃತ್ಯ (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · he דיני נזיקין (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · cs přečin (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · pl delikt cywilny (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury) · el αδικοπραξία (wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury)