Pardon Definition

pärdn
pardoned, pardons
verb
pardoned, pardons
To release (a person) from further punishment for a crime.
Webster's New World
To allow (an offense or fault) to pass without punishment or disfavor.
American Heritage
To cancel or not exact penalty for (an offense); forgive.
Webster's New World
To make courteous allowance for; excuse.
Pardon me, I'm in a hurry.
American Heritage
To excuse or forgive (a person) for some minor fault, discourtesy, etc.
Webster's New World
noun
pardons
The act of pardoning.
American Heritage
Exemption of a convicted person from the penalties of an offense or crime by the power of the executor of the laws.
American Heritage
A pardoning or being pardoned; forgiveness.
Webster's New World
An official document granting a pardon; specif., a document granting a Church indulgence, esp. as sold by medieval pardoners.
Webster's New World
An indulgence.
American Heritage
interjection
Pardon me: a mild apology.
Webster's New World
Please repeat what you have said: a request for information or clarification, often with the rising intonation of a question.
Webster's New World
Often used when someone does not understand what another person says.
Pardon?, What did you say?, Can you say that again?
Wiktionary
idiom
I beg your pardon!
  • excuse me!
Webster's New World
pardon me
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Pardon

Noun

Singular:
pardon
Plural:
pardons

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Pardon

Origin of Pardon

  • Middle English pardonen from Old French pardoner from Vulgar Latin *perdonare, from per- + donare, a loan-translation of a Germanic word represented by Frankish *firgeban (“to forgive, give up completely"), from fir- + geban. Akin to Old High German fargeban, firgeban (“to forgive"), Old English forÄ¡iefan (“to forgive"). More at forgive.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English pardonen from Old French pardoner from Vulgar Latin perdōnāre to give wholeheartedly Latin per- intensive pref. per– Latin dōnāre to present, forgive (from dōnum gift dō- in Indo-European roots)

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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