pardon

A1 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈpɑɹdn̩/ UK /ˈpɑːdn̩/ See IPA manual

Freq #1463

Meanings

1

noun
Forgiveness for something wrong that someone has done.

He begged his father for pardon.
2

verb
To forgive someone for something they have done.

Please pardon me for being late.
3

noun
An official decision to free a criminal or cancel their punishment.

The president granted the prisoner a full pardon.
4

verb
To officially forgive someone for a crime.

The governor pardoned several prisoners before leaving office.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · forgiveness for something... forgiveness clemency

3 noun · an official decision to... amnesty

Word family

Forms pardonablepardonedpardoningpardons

Derived forms pardonablepardoneepardonerpardongatepardonlesspardonmongerprepardonself-pardonunpardonableunpardoning

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

Virtue pardons those she would amend

Simplified etymology

Pardon came into Middle English from medieval Latin perdonare ‘concede, remit’, formed from per- ‘completely’ and donare ‘give’. The shortened conversational use meaning ‘excuse me’ appeared in the mid-19th century, after the late 17th-century phrase I beg your pardon.

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.

*gʰebʰ- Proto-Indo-European pardonen Middle English pardoner Old French perdonare la-lat

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# pardon

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈpɑɹdn̩/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpɑːdn̩/
**Frequency rank:** 1463

## Meanings
1. Forgiveness for something wrong that someone has done.
2. To forgive someone for something they have done.
3. An official decision to free a criminal or cancel their punishment.
4. To officially forgive someone for a crime.

## Examples
- He begged his father for pardon.
- Please pardon me for being late.
- The president granted the prisoner a full pardon.
- The governor pardoned several prisoners before leaving office.

## Derived Forms
- pardonable
- pardonee
- pardoner
- pardongate
- pardonless
- pardonmonger
- prepardon
- self-pardon
- unpardonable
- unpardoning

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *gʰebʰ-
- Root: pardonen
- Root: pardoner
- Root: perdonare

## 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.

## AI Etymology
Pardon comes 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”). The historical chain includes Proto-Indo-European *gʰebʰ-, Middle English pardonen, Old French pardoner, and la-lat perdonare. Modern senses include forgiveness for something wrong that someone has done and to forgive someone for something they have done. The wider word family includes derivatives such as pardonable, pardonee, pardoner, pardongate, pardonless, and pardonmonger.

## Topics
- People & Society

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