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mayhem

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may⋅hem

  [mey-hem, mey-uhm]
Use mayhem in a Sentence
–noun
1. Law. the crime of willfully inflicting a bodily injury on another so as to make the victim less capable of self-defense or, under modern statutes, so as to cripple or mutilate the victim.
2. random or deliberate violence or damage.
3. a state of rowdy disorder: Antagonisms between the various factions at the meeting finally boiled over, and mayhem ensued.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME maheym, maim < AF mahe(i)m, mahaim < Gmc; akin to MHG meidem gelding, ON meitha to injure. See maim
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Mayham
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may·hem   (mā'hěm', mā'əm)   
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.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

mayhem 
1472, from Anglo-Fr. maihem (13c.), from O.Fr. mahaigne "injury," related to mahaignier "to maim" (see maim). Originally, in law, the crime of maiming a person to make him less able to defend himself or annoy his adversary.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: may·hem
Pronunciation: 'mA-"hem, -&m
Function: noun
Etymology: Anglo-French mahaim mahain, literally, mutilation, from Old French mahain, from mahaignier to injure, mutilate
: willful and permanent crippling, mutilation, or disfigurement of any part of another's body; also : the crime of engaging in mayhem
NOTE: Under the Model Penal Code and the codes of the states that follow it, mayhem is encompassed by assault and aggravated assault.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: may·hem
Pronunciation: 'mA-"hem, 'mA-&m
Function: noun
1 : willful and permanent deprivation of a bodily member resulting inimpairment of a person's fighting ability and constituting a grave felony under English common law
2 : willful and permanent crippling, mutilation, or disfiguring of any part ofthe body constituting a grave felony under modern statutes and in some jurisdictions requiring a specific intent as distinguished from general malice mayhem —Associated Press>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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