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mayhem

 
Dictionary: may·hem   ('hĕm', mā'əm) pronunciation
n.
  1. Law. The offense of willfully maiming or crippling a person.
  2. Infliction of violent injury on a person or thing; wanton destruction: children committing mayhem in the flower beds.
  3. A state of violent disorder or riotous confusion; havoc.

[Middle English maim, mayhem, from Anglo-Norman maihem, from Old French mahaigne, injury, from mahaignier, to maim, from Vulgar Latin *mahanāre, probably of Germanic origin.]


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Antonyms: mayhem
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n

Definition: chaos, confusion
Antonyms: calm, harmony, peace



Crime of willfully and permanently crippling, mutilating, or disfiguring any part of another's body. Some jurisdictions do not distinguish between mayhem and other types of battery. Japanese law treats all batteries similarly; Indian law divides bodily harms into "hurts" and "grievous hurts." In most U.S. states mayhem is encompassed by assault and aggravated assault.

For more information on mayhem, visit Britannica.com.

 
mayhem ('hĕm, mā'əm), in common law, the crime of willfully injuring a person so as to diminish his or her capacity for self-defense. Cutting off an arm or leg would thus be mayhem, while such a battery as cutting off an ear would not. Under modern statutes, however, mayhem (or maiming) is a form of aggravated battery that leads to mutilation (such as loss of an ear), disfigurement, or serious permanent injury; jurisdictions vary in requiring specific intent to cause the injury or, more broadly, wanton behavior leading to it.


Law Encyclopedia: Mayhem
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This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

Mayhem at common law required a type of injury that permanently rendered the victim less able to fight offensively or defensively; it might be accomplished either by the removal of (dismemberment), or by the disablement of, some bodily member useful in fighting. Today, by statute, permanent disfigurement has been added; and as to dismemberment and disablement, there is no longer a requirement that the member have military significance. In many states the crime of mayhem is treated as aggravated assault.

Word Tutor: mayhem
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: Deliberate injury of any part of the body.

pronunciation The thief was also charged with mayhem because the victim's arm was badly injured.

Wikipedia: Mayhem
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Contents

Mayhem may refer to:

Music

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Games

Miscellaneous


Translations: Mayhem
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - vold, hærværk, ødelæggelse

Nederlands (Dutch)
rotzooi, geweld, verminking, chaos

Français (French)
n. - désordre, grabuge, (US, Jur) (crime de) mutilation

Deutsch (German)
n. - Chaos, schwere Körperverletzung

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (μτφ.) αναστάτωση, κομφούζιο, το σώσε, χαμός

Italiano (Italian)
caos, mutilazione

Português (Portuguese)
n. - lesão corporal dolosa (f) (Jur.)

Русский (Russian)
нанесение увечья, драка

Español (Spanish)
n. - alboroto, violencia, mutilación criminal

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - lemlästning, förödelse

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
伤害罪之一种, 故意的伤害罪

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 傷害罪之一種, 故意的傷害罪

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 사람을 다치게 하는 죄, 기물파손, 대혼잡

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 身体傷害, 意図的損傷, 騒乱, 必要以上の非難

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) اضطرابات عنيفه و فوضى‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮אנדרולומוסיה, הטלת מום, פגיעה גופנית, אי-סדר‬


 
 
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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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