pardon

English

Etymology

From Middle English pardonen, from Old French pardoner (modern French pardonner), from Late Latin perdonare, from per- + donare, possibly a calque (if not vice-versa) 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 forġiefan (“to forgive”). More at forgive.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɑːdn̩/
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈpɑɹd(ə)n/,

• Audio (GA)

  (file)

• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈpaːdɘn/,
• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)dən
• Hyphenation: par‧don

Noun

pardon (countable and uncountable, plural pardons)

1. Forgiveness for an offence.
   • 1748, [Samuel Richardson], Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: , volumes (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: S Richardson;  , →OCLC:

     […] a step, that could not be taken with the least hope of ever obtaining pardon from or reconciliation with any of my friends; […]

2. (law) An order that releases a convicted criminal without further punishment, prevents future punishment, or (in some jurisdictions) removes an offence from a person's criminal record, as if it had never been committed.

   The President […] shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

   • 1974 September 8, Gerald R. Ford, 00:24 from the start, in Proclamation 4311‎, archived from the original on 18 May 2017, page 2‎:

     NOW, THEREFORE, I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States, pursuant to the pardon power conferred upon me by Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution, have granted and by these presents do grant a full, free, and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon for all offenses against the United States which he, Richard Nixon, has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from July 20, 1969 through August 9, 1974.

   • 2001, Barbara Olson, “The Final Frenzy: Finishing Touches on the Legend”, in The Final Days: The Last, Desperate Abuses of Power by the Clinton White House‎ (Politics/Current Affairs), Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 7:

     But the president's most irreversible, almost God-like power is the authority granted to him under Article II, Section 2, of the United States Constitution, "to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses Against the United States. . . ."
     The power is absolute-even a serial killer could be pardoned-and utterly unreviewable. It cannot be rescinded by the next president. The president may grant a pardon before a trial, after a trial, or without a trial. Once granted, a pardon can never be taken away.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

pardon (third-person singular simple present pardons, present participle pardoning, simple past and past participle pardoned)

1. (transitive) To forgive (a person).
   • 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, / That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!

   • 1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], Emma: , volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), London: for John Murray, →OCLC:

     I hope you will not find he has outstepped the truth more than may be pardoned, in consideration of the motive.

   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

     In the old days, to my commonplace and unobserving mind, he gave no evidences of genius whatsoever. He never read me any of his manuscripts, […], and therefore my lack of detection of his promise may in some degree be pardoned.

2. (transitive) To refrain from exacting as a penalty.
   • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

     I pardon thee thy life before thou ask it.

3. (transitive, law) To grant an official pardon for a crime.
   • 1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company , →OCLC:

     The murderer, he recalled, had been tried and sentenced to imprisonment for life, but was pardoned by a merciful governor after serving a year of his sentence.

Derived terms

Translations

Interjection

pardon?

1. Often used when someone does not understand what another person says.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:say again

Translations

Anagrams

• Padron

Czech

Alternative forms

• pardón

Interjection

pardon

1. sorry, I'm sorry, I beg your pardon, I apologize

   Synonyms: omlouvám se, promiňte, promiň, sorry, soráč

Further reading

• pardon in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• pardon in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French pardon.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɑrˈdɔn/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: par‧don
• Rhymes: -ɔn

Interjection

pardon

2. I'm sorry, pardon

Descendants

• Negerhollands: pardon, bardon
• → Saramaccan: padón

Noun

pardon n (plural pardons)

2. (law) pardon, clemency

Descendants

• Negerhollands: pardon, bardon

French

Etymology

Deverbal from pardonner.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /paʁ.dɔ̃/

• audio (France)

  (file)

• audio (Quebec)

  (file)

Interjection

pardon

1. excuse me
2. sorry

Descendants

• → Bulgarian: пардон (pardon) (colloquial)
• → Czech: pardon (colloquial)
• → Dutch: pardon
  • Negerhollands: pardon, bardon
  • → Saramaccan: padón
• → English: pardon
• → Greek: μπαρδόν (bardón)
• → Hungarian: pardon
• → Macedonian: пардон (pardon)
• → Ottoman Turkish: پاردون (pardon)
  • Turkish: pardon
• → Polish: pardon
• → Romanian: pardon
• → Russian: пардон (pardon) (colloquial)

Noun

pardon m (plural pardons)

1. pardon, forgiveness

Derived terms

• demander pardon
• Grand Pardon

Descendants

• Dutch: pardon
  • Negerhollands: pardon, bardon
• German: Pardon
• Hungarian: pardon
• Romanian: pardon
• Swedish: pardon

Further reading

• “pardon”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

Anagrams

• pondra

Hungarian

Etymology

From French pardon, primarily via German Pardon.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• Hyphenation: par‧don
• Rhymes: -on

Interjection

pardon

1. pardon!, pardon me!, excuse me!, I beg your pardon!, sorry!

   Synonym: bocsánat

Noun

pardon

1. (dated, law) pardon

   Synonym: kegyelem

Declension

Derived terms

References

Further reading

• pardon in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from French pardon.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpar.dɔn/, /parˈdɔw̃/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ardɔn
• Syllabification: par‧don

Noun

pardon m inan

1. (dated) pardon, forgiveness

   Synonyms: przebaczenie, wybaczenie

Declension

Derived terms

Interjection

pardon

1. (colloquial) sorry, excuse me, I beg your pardon

   Synonym: przepraszam

Further reading

• pardon in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• pardon in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French pardon.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /parˈdon/

Interjection

pardon

1. pardon!, pardon me!, excuse me!, I beg your pardon!, sorry!

Noun

pardon n (uncountable)

1. (dated) pardon, pardoning, forgiveness, excuse

Synonyms

• iertare, scuză

See also

• poftim

Swedish

Noun

pardon c

1. (usually negated) mercy

   utan pardon ― without mercy

Synonyms

• nåd

References

• pardon in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• pardon in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• pardon in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Anagrams

• pandor

Turkish

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish پاردون (pardon), from French pardon.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɑɾ.don/

Interjection

pardon

1. pardon!, pardon me!, excuse me!, I beg your pardon!, sorry!