Lese
/liːz/noun
Injury or harm, especially as used in the legal phrase “lese-majesty.”
Did you know?In “lèse-majesté,” the word comes from Latin laesa, “injured,” making treasonous disrespect metaphorically an injury inflicted upon majesty itself.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Latin
Latin
laedere
“To hurt, injure, or strike”
Classical Latin
Latin
laesus / laesa
“Injured or harmed; the feminine form laesa later influenced lese”
Late Latin
Latin
laesa maiestas
“Injured or violated majesty”
12th–13th Century
Old French
lèse / lésé
“Injury, or injured; used in legal and royal expressions”
14th Century
Anglo-French
lese majesté
“Offense or injury against sovereign majesty”
Modern English
English
lese
“Injury or harm, chiefly preserved in “lese-majesty””