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felon

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fel·on

1   [fel-uhn]
noun
1.
Law. a person who has committed a felony.
2.
Archaic. a wicked person.
adjective
3.
Archaic. wicked; malicious; treacherous.

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Felon is always a great word to know.
So is assignment. Does it mean:
a person to whom property or power is entrusted for the benefit of another
the transference of a right, interest, or title, or the instrument of transfer; a transference of property to assignees for the benefit of creditors
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Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English fel(o)un wicked < Anglo-French; Old French fel (nominative), felun (oblique) wicked person, traitor, perhaps < Old Low Franconian *fillo, noun corresponding to Old Saxon fillian to ill-treat, whip, Middle Dutch villen to flay, Old High German fillen to beat, whip; compare fell3
Example Sentences
  • The theory is that the felon set in motion events resulting in the death.
  • Across town, a known felon barricades himself inside his.
  • My best friend turned out to be a felon later in life.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

fel·on

2   [fel-uhn]
noun
an acute and painful inflammation of the deeper tissues of a finger or toe, usually near the nail: a form of whitlow.
Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English felo(u)n < Medieval Latin fellōn- (stem of fellō) scrofulous tumor, of uncertain origin
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
felon1 (ˈfɛlən)
 
—n
1.  criminal law (formerly) a person who has committed a felony
2.  obsolete a wicked person
 
—adj
3.  archaic, poetic or evil; cruel
 
[C13: from Old French: villain, from Medieval Latin fellō, of uncertain origin]

felon2 (ˈfɛlən)
 
—n
a purulent inflammation of the end joint of a finger, sometimes affecting the bone
 
[C12: from Medieval Latin fellō sore, perhaps from Latin fel poison]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

felon
c.1300, from O.Fr. felon "evil-doer, scoundrel, traitor, rebel, the Devil," from M.L. fellonem "evil-doer," of uncertain origin, perhaps from Frank. *fillo, *filljo "person who whips or beats, scourger" (cf. O.H.G. fillen "to whip"); or from L. fel "gall, poison," on the notion of "one full of bitterness."
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Another theory (advanced by Professor R. Atkinson of Dublin) traces it to L. fellare "to suck" (see fecund), which had an obscene secondary meaning in classical L. (well-known to readers of Martial and Catullus), which would make a felon etymologically a "cock-sucker." OED inclines toward the "gall" explanation, but finds Atkinson's "most plausible" of the others.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

felon fel·on (fěl'ən)
n.
A purulent infection or abscess involving the bulbous distal end of a finger. Also called whitlow.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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