Past tense of indict, meaning formally charged with a crime or serious accusation by a grand jury.
From Latin indictus, past participle of indicere meaning 'to proclaim publicly,' from in- (into) + dicere (to say). The legal meaning evolved from the concept of formally declaring or announcing charges.
The silent 'c' in 'indicted' is a fossil from its Latin ancestry - we pronounce it like 'invited' but spell it with legal gravitas. This pronunciation quirk has tripped up countless news anchors and law students over the years!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.