Origin and history of felon

felon(n.)

c. 1300, feloun, "one who deceives or commits treason; one who is wicked or evil; evil-doer," used of Lucifer and Herod, from Old French felon "evil-doer, scoundrel, traitor, rebel, oath-breaker, the Devil" (9c.), from Medieval Latin fellonem (nominative fello) "evil-doer," which is of uncertain origin, perhaps from Frankish *fillo, *filljo "person who whips or beats, scourger" (source of Old High German fillen "to whip"); or from Latin fel "gall, poison," on the notion of "one full of bitterness." Celtic origins also have been proposed.

Another theory (advanced by Professor R. Atkinson of Dublin) traces it to Latin fellare "to suck" (see fecund), which had an obscene secondary meaning in classical Latin (well-known to readers of Martial and Catullus), which would make a felon etymologically a "cock-sucker." OED (1989) inclines toward the "gall" explanation, but finds Atkinson's "most plausible" of the others.

Also by c. 1300 in English in a general legal sense "criminal; one who has committed a felony," however that was defined. Century Dictionary notes, "the term is not applicable after legal punishment has been completed." In Middle English it also was an adjective, "traitorous, wicked, malignant." Compare traitor for sense development. Australian official James Mudie (1837), coined felonry "as the appellative of an order or class of persons in New South Wales,—an order which happily exists in no other country in the world."

also from c. 1300

Entries linking to felon

fecund(adj.)

a 16c. Latinizing revision of the spelling of Middle English fecond, fecound (early 15c.), from Old French fecond, fecont "fruitful" and directly from Latin fecundus "fruitful, fertile, productive; rich, abundant," from *fe-kwondo-, suffixed form (adjectival) of PIE root *dhe(i)- "to suck, suckle," with derivatives meaning also "produce, yield."

Also from the same Latin root come felare "to suck;" femina "woman" (literally "she who suckles"); felix "happy, auspicious, fruitful;" fetus "offspring, pregnancy;" fenum "hay" (probably literally "produce"); and probably filia/filius "daughter/son," assimilated from *felios, originally "a suckling."

traitor(n.)

c. 1200, traitour, "one who betrays any trust or duty; a tempter;" in a general sense "treacherous or untrustworthy person," also specifically "one guilty of high treason," from Old French traitor, traitre "traitor, villain, deceiver" (11c., Modern French traître), from Latin traditor "betrayer," literally "one who delivers" (source also of Spanish traidor, Italian traditore; the Latin noun also meant "a teacher"), agent noun from stem of tradere "deliver, hand over." This is a compound from trans- "over" (see trans-) + dare "to give" (reconstructed to be from PIE root + dare "to give" (reconstructed to be from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put").

The English word was originally usually with a suggestion of Judas Iscariot. The sense of "one who violates allegiance and betrays his country's government or sovereign" emerged from late 15c. Also in reference to causes. Compare treason, tradition. Middle English also had treacher "deceiver, cheat, traitor."

As an adjective, "of or pertaining to a traitor, traitorous, guilty of treason," from c. 1300.

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