mayhem

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('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.]



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.


n

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

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.


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.

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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.

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Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'mayhem'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to mayhem, see:
  • Crimes, Criminals, and Civil Offenders - mayhem: willful damage or violence to another person
  • Crimes - mayhem: willfully inflicting bodily injury on another person; deliberate violence or damage; state of rowdy disorder
  • Violent Events - mayhem: maiming or disfiguring of another person; random or deliberate violence


  See crossword solutions for the clue Mayhem.

Mayhem may refer to:

Contents

Music

Other media

People

Sports and games

See also

  • Ani-Mayhem, an anime-based collectible card game
  • TV Mayhem, a 1991 television show
  • "Mayham", an episode of the TV series The Sopranos

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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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Copyrights:

Mentioned in

Heckle & Jeckle: Intruders (1990 Children's/Family Film)
La Corona De Un Campeon (1973 Adventure Film)
The Sinister Monk (1967 Mystery Film)
Extra Terrestrial Visitors (1984 Science Fiction Film)