Formal charges or accusations of serious crimes, typically issued by a grand jury. Can also refer to strong criticisms or condemnations of something.
From Anglo-French enditer meaning 'to write down' or 'to dictate', from Latin indictare. The legal term evolved from the literal act of writing down formal accusations in medieval court proceedings.
The silent 'c' in indictment is a relic of French legal terminology - it's pronounced like 'inditement'! This reflects how English legal language preserved Norman French spellings even as pronunciation evolved, creating one of English's trickiest spellings.
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