MISDEMEANORS
Noun
misdemeanors
plural of misdemeanor
Source: Wiktionary
MISDEMEANOR
Mis`de*mean"or, n.
1. Ill behavior; evil conduct; fault. Shak.
2. (Law)
Definition: A crime less than a felony. Wharton.
Note: As a rule, in the old English law, offenses capitally
punishable were felonies; all other indictable offenses were
misdemeanors. In common usage, the word crime is employed to denote
the offenses of a deeper and more atrocious dye, while small faults
and omissions of less consequence are comprised under the gentler
name of misdemeanors. Blackstone. The distinction, however, between
felonies and misdemeanors is purely arbitrary, and is in most
jurisdictions either abrogated or so far reduced as to be without
practical value. Cf. Felony. Wharton.
Syn.
– Misdeed; misconduct; misbehavior; fault; trespass; transgression.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition