pardon

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   grant a pardon to

   Ford pardoned Nixon

2. 2
   noun

   Forgiveness for an offence.

   […] a step, that could not be taken with the least hope of ever obtaining pardon from or reconciliation with any of my friends; […]

3. 3
   noun

   An order that releases a convicted criminal without further punishment, prevents future punishment, or (in some jurisdictions) removes an offence from a person's criminal record, as if it had never been committed.

   The President[…]shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

4. 4
   verb

   To forgive (a person).

   O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, / That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!

5. 5
   verb

   To refrain from exacting as a penalty.

   I pardon thee thy life before thou ask it.

6. 6
   verb

   To grant an official pardon for a crime.

   The murderer, he recalled, had been tried and sentenced to imprisonment for life, but was pardoned by a merciful governor after serving a year of his sentence.

7. 7
   noun

   the act of excusing a mistake or offense

8. 8
   noun

   the formal act of liberating someone

Etymology

From Middle English pardonen, from Old French pardoner (modern French pardonner), from Late Latin perdonare, from per- + donare, possibly a calque (if not vice-versa) of a Germanic word represented by Frankish *firgeban (“to forgive, give up completely”), from *fir- + *geban. Akin to Old High German fargeban, firgeban (“to forgive”), Old English forġiefan (“to forgive”). More at forgive.