Arraign - Definitions from Dictionary.com

8 results for: Arraign

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

ar·raign

Audio Help [uh-reyn] Pronunciation Key

–verb (used with object)

1.	to call or bring before a court to answer to an indictment.

2.	to accuse or charge in general; criticize adversely; censure.

[Origin: 1275–1325; ME arainen < AF arainer, OF araisnier, equiv. to a- a-⁵ + raisnier < VL *ratiōnāre to talk, reason; see ratio

]

—Related forms

ar·raign·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Arraign

To learn more about Arraign visit Britannica.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ar·raign Audio Help (ə-rān') Pronunciation Key
tr.v. ar·raigned, ar·raign·ing, ar·raigns

Law To call (an accused person) before a court to answer the charge made against him or her by indictment, information, or complaint.
To call to account; accuse: "Johnson arraigned the modern politics of this country as entirely devoid of all principle" (James Boswell).

[Middle English arreinen, from Old French araisnier, from Vulgar Latin *adratiōnāre, to call to account : Latin ad-, ad- + Latin ratiō, ratiōn-, account; see reason.]

ar·raign'er n., ar·raign'ment n.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
arraign

c.1325, "to call to account," from O.Fr. araisnier, from L. adrationare, from ad- "to" + ratio "argumentation, reckoning, calculation." Sense of "to call up on a criminal charge" is c.1400.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

arraign
verb
1.	call before a court to answer an indictment
2.	accuse of a wrong or an inadequacy

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: ar·raign
Pronunciation: &-'rAn
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Anglo-French arrainer, from Old French araisnier to address,call to account, from a-, prefix stressing goal of an action + raisnier to speak
: to bring (a defendant) before a judge or magistrate to hear the charges and to plead usuallyeither guilty or not guilty —compare INDICT
NOTE: For a person to be formally arraigned, he or she must be called byname before a judge or magistrate. The judge or magistrate makes sure that the defendant is the person named in the complaint, indictment, or information, which is then read to formally notify thedefendant of the charges. The defendant may then enter a plea of guilty, not guilty, or another plea allowed by law such as nolo contendere. In some cases, as when the defendant is not yet representedby a lawyer, the judge or magistrate may enter a plea of not guilty on the defendant's behalf. —ar·raign·ment noun

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Arraign

Ac*cuse"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Accused; p. pr. & vb. n. Accusing.] [OF. acuser, F. accuser, L. accusare, to call to account, accuse; ad + causa cause, lawsuit. Cf. Cause.]

1. To charge with, or declare to have committed, a crime or offense; (Law) to charge with an offense, judicially or by a public process; -- with of; as, to accuse one of a high crime or misdemeanor.

Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me. --Acts xxiv. 13.

We are accused of having persuaded Austria and Sardinia to lay down their arms. --Macaulay.

2. To charge with a fault; to blame; to censure.

Their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another. --Rom. ii. 15.

3. To betray; to show. [L.] --Sir P. Sidney.

Syn: To charge; blame; censure; reproach; criminate; indict; impeach; arraign.

Usage: To Accuse, Charge, Impeach, Arraign. These words agree in bringing home to a person the imputation of wrongdoing. To accuse is a somewhat formal act, and is applied usually (though not exclusively) to crimes; as, to accuse of treason. Charge is the most generic. It may refer to a crime, a dereliction of duty, a fault, etc.; more commonly it refers to moral delinquencies; as, to charge with dishonesty or falsehood. To arraign is to bring (a person) before a tribunal for trial; as, to arraign one before a court or at the bar public opinion. To impeach is officially to charge with misbehavior in office; as, to impeach a minister of high crimes. Both impeach and arraign convey the idea of peculiar dignity or impressiveness.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Arraign

Ar*raign"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Arraigned; p. pr. & vb. n. Arraigning.] [OE. arainen, arenen, OF. aragnier, aranier, araisnier, F. arraisonner, fr. LL. arrationare to address to call before court; L. ad + ratio reason, reasoning, LL. cause, judgment. See Reason.]

1. (Law) To call or set as a prisoner at the bar of a court to answer to the matter charged in an indictment or complaint. --Blackstone.

2. To call to account, or accuse, before the bar of reason, taste, or any other tribunal.

They will not arraign you for want of knowledge. --Dryden.

It is not arrogance, but timidity, of which the Christian body should now be arraigned by the world. --I. Taylor.

Syn: To accuse; impeach; charge; censure; criminate; indict; denounce. See Accuse.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Arraign

Ar*raign"\, n. Arraignment; as, the clerk of the arraigns. --Blackstone. Macaulay.

Browse Nearby Entries:

arr-eats
arr.
arra
arracacha
arracacha's
arracachas
arracachas'
arrach
arrack
arrack's
arracks

arracks'
arradcom
arragonite
arrah
arraht
arraign
arraigned
arraigner
arraigning
arraignment
arraignment on the warran..

arraigns
arraiment
arran
arrange
arrangeable
arranged
arrangement
arrangement's
arrangements
arrangements'
arranger

View results from: Dictionary | Thesaurus | Encyclopedia | All Reference | the Web