indemnity

English

Etymology

From late Middle English indempnite, from Middle French indemnité, from Late Latin indemnitas (“security from damage”), from Latin indemnis (“undamaged”), from in- (“not”) + damnum (“damage”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪnˈdɛmnɪti/

• Audio (US)

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• Hyphenation: in‧dem‧ni‧ty

Noun

indemnity (countable and uncountable, plural indemnities)

1. Security from damage, loss, or penalty.
   • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter IX, in Francesca Carrara. , volume I, London: Richard Bentley, , (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 101:

     And all this, it will be said, the Duke of Orleans might have prevented by an effective treaty, securing an act of indemnity.

2. (law) An obligation or duty upon an individual to incur the losses of another.
3. Repayment; compensation for loss or injury.
   • 1859, John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, The Life and Times of Charles James Fox, volume II, London: Richard Bentley, page 363:

     It would have been wise to modify rather than revoke the proclamation. But the Allies went further. Now, for the first time, were heard the words of indemnity for the past, and security for the future.

4. (law) The right of an injured party to shift the loss onto the party responsible for the loss.
5. (insurance) A principle of insurance which provides that when a loss occurs, the insured should be restored to the approximate financial condition occupied before the loss occurred, no better, no worse.

Derived terms

Related terms

• indemnify
• damage

Translations

See also

• double indemnity