Arson
/ˈɑːr.sən/noun
The criminal act of deliberately setting fire to property.
Did you know?Arson comes through Anglo-French from a Latin legal term tied to burning, showing how languages often create new words when a society needs to name a specific kind of destructive power.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
ardere
“to burn”
Late Latin
Latin
arsio
“a burning”
Old French
OF
arsion
“a burning; an act of burning”
Middle English
English
arsoun
“burning; the crime of malicious burning”
Modern English
English
arson
“the criminal act of deliberately setting fire to property”
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