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lèse-majesté definition

lèse-majesté (lez′ma′z̸hes tā′, -maj′is tē)

noun

  1. a crime against the sovereign; offense against a ruler's dignity as head of the state; treason
  2. any insolent or slighting behavior toward a person to whom deference is due

Etymology: Fr < L laesa majestas < laesa, fem. of laesus (see lesion) + majestas, majesty

Also lese majesty lese′· maj′·esty (-maj′is tē)

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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