ETYM French crime, from Latin crimen judicial decision, that which is subjected to such a decision, charge, fault, crime, from the root of cernere to decide judicially. Related to Certain.
1. An act punishable by law; usually considered an evil act; SYN. law-breaking.
2. An evil act not necessarily punishable by law.
Behavior or action that is punishable by criminal law. A crime is a public, as opposed to a moral, wrong; it is an offense committed against (and hence punishable by) the state or the community at large. Many crimes are immoral, but not all actions considered immoral are illegal.
The laws of each country specify which actions or omissions are criminal. These include serious moral wrongs, such as murder; wrongs that endanger state security, such as treason; wrongs that endanger or disrupt an orderly society, such as evading taxes; and wrongs against the community, such as littering. Crime is socially determined and so what constitutes a crime may vary geographically and over time. Thus, an action may be considered a crime in one society but not in another; for example, drinking alcohol is not generally prohibited in the West but is a criminal offense in many Islamic countries. Certain categories of crime, though, such as violent crime and theft, are recognized almost universally.
Crime is dealt with in most societies by the judicial system, comprising the police, the courts, and so on. These may impose penalties ranging from a fine to imprisonment to, in some instances, death, depending upon the severity of the offense and the penalty laid down by the country where the offense was committed.
The Italian physician Cesare Lombroso is generally accredited with being the founder of criminology, the scientific study of criminal behavior. He associated criminality with physical characteristics. Later criminologists have tended to draw more upon sociology and psychology than biology to formulate theories of crime. + prikaži više

ETYM Old Eng. sinne, as. synn, syn.
1. An act that is regarded by theologians as a transgression of God's will; SYN. sinning.
2. Estrangement from god; SYN. sinfulness, wickedness.
3. The 21st letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
4. (Colloquial) Violent and excited activity; SYN. hell.
Transgression of the will of God or the gods, as revealed in the moral code laid down by a particular religion. In Roman Catholic theology, a distinction is made between mortal sins, which, if unforgiven, result in damnation, and venial sins, which are less serious. In Islam, the one unforgivable sin is shirk, denial that Allah is the only god.
In Christian belief, humanity is in a state of original sin and therefore in need of redemption through the crucifixion of Jesus. The sacrament of penance is seen as an earthly means of atonement for sin. The seven deadly sins are the vices leading to sin. + prikaži više

ETYM Latin transgressio a going across, going over, transgression of the law, from transgredi, transgressus, to step across, go over; trans over, across + gradi to step, walk: cf. French transgression. Related to Grade.
1. The act of transgressing, or of passing over or beyond any law, civil or moral.
2. The violation of a law or known principle of rectitude; breach of command; fault; offense; crime; sin. + prikaži više