arraign
English
Etymology
From Middle English arreinen, areinen, araynen, arrainen, arainen, arenen (“to call (a person) to account, to call upon one to answer for himself on a criminal charge”),[1] from Anglo-Norman areiner, arener, from Old French araisnier, areisnier, aresnier (“to speak to, address; accuse (in a law court)”) (whence modern French arraisonner (“to verify cargo, to arraign”)), from Vulgar Latin *arratiōnāre, from Latin adratiōnāre, from ad (“to”) + *ratiōnāre (“to reason, talk reasonably, talk”), from ratiō (“reason, reasoning, discourse”), from rat-, past-participle stem of rērī (“to reckon, calculate”).[2][3] First attested in the late 14th century. Doublet of areason.
About the -g- within the word, Etymonline and the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary both agrees that it is present by hypercorrection and appears since the 16th century.[3][4] The Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) and the Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology (1986) however, provides two etymological links each, which are Old French aragnier[5] and araigner.[6] The Oxford English Dictionary (1885, 1989) did not support either of these hypotheses, but did attribute Old French arraigner, arainer to an unrelated obsolete sense and etymon.[2]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /əˈɹeɪn/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - Rhymes: -eɪn
Verb
arraign (third-person singular simple present arraigns, present participle arraigning, simple past and past participle arraigned)
- (with on, (archaic) for) To officially charge someone in a court of law.
- He was arraigned in Washington, D.C., on the 25th of that month on charges of treason.
- To call to account, or accuse, before the bar of reason, taste, or any other tribunal.
- 1697, Virgil, “(please specify the book number)”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
- They will not dare to arraign you for want of knowledge.
- 1832, [Isaac Taylor], Saturday Evening. […], London: Holdsworth and Ball, →OCLC:
- It is not arrogance, but timidity, of which the Christian body should now be arraigned by the world.
Derived terms
Translations
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Noun
arraign (plural arraigns)
- Arraignment.
- 1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, (please specify |book=I to IV), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC:
- the clerk of the arraigns
- 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:
- The clerk of the arraigns stood up
References
- ^ “arreinen”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “arraign, v.1”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, volumes I (A–Bazouki), Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN, page 644.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “arraign”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ “arraign”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
- ^ “arraign”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- ^ T. F. Hoad, editor (1986), “arraign”, in The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Hong Kong: The Softback Preview, published 1992, →ISBN, pages 22–23; by arrangement with Oxford University Press
- “arraign” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman: “arraign somebody on something”.
- 1755 April 15, Samuel Johnson, “To ARRA′IGN”, in A Dictionary of the English Language: […], volume II (L–Z), London: […] J[ohn] and P[aul] Knapton; […], →OCLC:
- 3. It has for before the fault.
Further reading
- James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Arraign, v.1”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volume I (A–B), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 456.