Word
abetment
Phoneticsabet·ment
Definition
n. the act of helping someone else to commit a crime. It is not the same as doing the crime yourself, but you are still guilty of it.
n. the act of encouraging, assisting, or aiding another person in the commission of a crime. Often used in legal contexts to describe secondary liability.
Examples
“The lawyer argued that his client was not guilty of abetment.”
“The witness provided evidence that the defendant was involved in the abetment of the robbery.”
“In many jurisdictions, the legal definition of abetment includes not only direct encouragement but also the provision of tools or information that facilitates the commission of a felony.”
Examples
simple
“The lawyer argued that his client was not guilty of abetment.”
contextual
“The witness provided evidence that the defendant was involved in the abetment of the robbery.”
complex
“In many jurisdictions, the legal definition of abetment includes not only direct encouragement but also the provision of tools or information that facilitates the commission of a felony.”
Etymology
First attested from 1350 to 1470, from Middle English abettement, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French abeter + -ment. See abet.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/abetment