Felon Definition

Origin of Felon

• Middle English felun, feloun, from Anglo-Norman felun (“traitor, wretch”), from Frankish *felo (“wicked person”), from Proto-Germanic *fillô, *filjô (“flayer, whipper, scoundrel”), from Proto-Germanic *faluz (“cruel, evil”) (compare English fell (“fierce”), Middle High German vālant (“imp”)), related to *fellaną (compare Dutch villen, German fillen (“to whip, beat”), both from Proto-Indo-European *pelh₂- (“to stir, move, swing”) (compare Old Irish adellaim 'I seek', diellaim 'I yield', Umbrian pelsatu 'to overcome, conquer', Latin pellere (“to drive, beat”), Latvian lijuôs, plītiês (“to force, impose”), Ancient Greek πέλας (pélas, “near”), πίλναμαι (pílnamai, “I approach”), Old Armenian հալածեմ (halacem, “I pursue”).

  From Wiktionary

• Middle English feloun from Old French felon wicked, a wicked person from Medieval Latin fellō fellōn- possibly of Germanic origin

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

• Middle English feloun probably from Latin fel gall, bile ghel-² in Indo-European roots

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

• Probably from Latin fel (“gall, poison”).

  From Wiktionary