criminaladj.n.
/ˈkrɪmᵻnl/, U.S. /ˈkrɪmənl/, /ˈkrɪmn(ə)l/ A. adj.† 3. Of beasts: savage, fierce, malignant. Obsolete.
1.
a. Of the nature of or involving a crime punishable by law; (gen.) of the nature of a grave offence, wicked.
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the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > criminality > [adjective]
criminalc1400
criminous1484
crimeful1594
erroneous1595
society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > [adjective] > relating to crime > of the nature of or involving crime
criminalc1400
criminous1484
crimeful1594
society > morality > moral evil > wrong conduct > evildoing or wrongdoing > [adjective] > transgressing or offending > of the nature of a fault or offence > grave
criminalc1400
criminous1484
c1400 Femina (Trin. Cambr.) (1909) 87 (MED) Ne hauyþ in herte eny pride..ffor hyt ys..heued of synnez criminalez.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. l. 3332 Sche..Dide a synne þat was crimynal.
a1525 Ballat Our Lady in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 271 Ross mary..O cleir conclaif of clene virginite That closit crist but curis criminale.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. iii. sig. C3v Pillage..Which he had got abroad by purchas criminall.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) iii. ii. 88 No Father owning it (which is indeed More criminall in thee, then it). View more context for this quotation
1659 J. Rushworth Hist. Coll. App. 53 In some cases, criminal offences shall be dispunished.
1759 S. Johnson Prince of Abissinia II. xxix. 35 Ignorance, when it is voluntary, is criminal.
1821 T. Jefferson Autobiogr. in Writings (1984) 35 The laws which rendered criminal the maintenance of any religious opinions.
1883 ‘M. Twain’ Life on Mississippi xliv. 445 The renowned fish called the pompano, delicious as the less criminal forms of sin.
1904 G. K. Chesterton Napoleon of Notting Hill iii. iii. 110 That kind of thing is really criminal; it's against the public good.
1933 H. G. Wells Shape of Things to Come ii. §3. 158 Gangs and organizations for frankly criminal purposes.
1968 Internat. Herald Tribune 3 Sept. 7/3 The bellwether of a nation's tendency toward criminal violence.
2006 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 10 Dec. iv. 12/2 The erosion of civic standards for what constitutes criminal behavior.
b. colloquial. Deplorable; shocking.
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the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > [adjective] > lamentable
ruefulc1225
pietousa1393
weepablec1449
pitifulc1450
lamentablec1460
pitiablec1475
implorable1535
moanworthy1540
wailfula1547
wailsome1566
tristsum1567
moanful1573
souspirable1594
bemoanable1611
bewailable1611
deplorable1612
criminal1792
1792 R. Burns Let. 16 Apr. (1985) II. 139 I this moment have yowe, and were it not that habit, as usual, has deafened conscience, my criminal indolence should lead me an uneasy life of Reproach.
1894 Bull. Misc. Information (Royal Gardens, Kew) 49 No visitor interested in trees could fail to be struck by the criminal waste of the mountaineers.
1941 ‘N. Blake’ Case of Abominable Snowman vi. 67 ‘It's criminal!’ stormed Restorick. ‘If I'd known this was going on, you'd have been packed out of my house double quick.’
1986 D. Shields Dead Lang. (1990) xx. 162 The course load is criminal.
2004 S. Mehta Maximum City 362 An astrologer had come to his home and, in the presence of his brother and cousin, told him he was wasting his time. ‘It's a criminal waste. Go back.’
2. That relates to crime or its punishment.Frequently opposed to civil adj. 12b, which relates to the relations between private citizens, in cases where a plaintiff seeks to obtain redress for damages suffered; criminal relates to the legal relations between the citizen and the state, in cases where the state seeks to prosecute and punish those who break the law.criminal execution: see execution n. 8.
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society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > [adjective] > relating to crime
criminal?a1439
criminosec1475
criminous1706
a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) iii. l. 3253 (MED) Causes off cyuyle & causes cremynall Ther doomys take, wher thei be fals or trewe.
1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) ii. iii. 36 Some causes ben crymynell, And some ben cyuyle.
1533 T. More Debellacyon Salem & Bizance ii. xvi. f. lxxv Concernyng great crymynouse wytnesses to be taken in great criminall causes.
1582 in J. Spottiswood Hist. Church Scotl. (1677) vi. 323 They..should be exonered of all Action, civil or criminal.
1686 J. S. Hist. Monastical Convent. 146 Having under him two Civil-Lieutenants..and one Lieutenant Criminal, with many Judges.
1745 Fortunate Orphan 200 She..sent immediately for the Judge Criminal.
1776 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall I. xvi. 390 They no longer possessed the administration of criminal justice.
1837 J. R. McCulloch Statist. Acct. Brit. Empire II. iv. iv. 162 The highest court of criminal judicature known to the laws of England is the House of Lords.
1867 J. Lord Old Rom. World vi. 254 The Cornelian, Pompeian, and Julian laws formed the foundation of criminal jurisprudence.
1868 Times 29 Dec. 4/2 It being a criminal cause, the doubt was in each case to be given in favour of the respondent.
1931 N. Amer. Rev. Jan. 22 This is one of his jokes; he knows I can't afford to try criminal cases.
1964 J. Cheever Wapshot Scandal i. vi. 62 This will lead to a criminal indictment.
1985 R. C. A. White Admin. of Justice ii. i. 6 When both civil and criminal cases go on appeal, the terminology again changes.
2005 New Yorker 17 Jan. 60/1 James Stuehringer..practices civil and criminal law.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > by nature > [adjective] > wild or vicious
wildc725
wrothOE
keenOE
ramagec1300
fell?c1335
furiousc1374
fierce1377
ramageousa1398
eagerc1405
savage1447
naughtyc1460
criminal1477
ill1480
shrewd1509
mankind1519
roidc1540
mad1565
horn-mad1579
fierceful1607
man-keen1607
indomite1617
fellish1638
ferocious1646
ferousa1652
ferinea1676
kwaai1827
skelm1827
1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 115 The most terrible and the most crymynel dragon.
1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde ii. vi. sig. e. 8 Bestes..so right stronge and crymynell that noman dar approche them.
4. Of a person or group of people: guilty of a crime or a grave offence; having a tendency to commit crime.In quot. 1851: designating a member of the clergy accused of a crime (cf. criminous adj.).
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the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > guilt > [adjective]
shildyOE
sakeda1300
sakfula1300
culpable1303
faulty1380
plightya1400
defective1423
criminousa1460
criminal1489
wity1530
nocent1559
delinquent1584
faultful1591
obnoxious1604
noxiousa1618
guiltful1655
society > morality > moral evil > guilt > [adjective]
guiltyc1000
sakeda1300
sakfula1300
culpable1303
faulty1380
plightfula1400
plightya1400
defective1423
criminousa1460
criminal1489
nocent1559
delinquent1584
faultful1591
obnoxious1604
noxiousa1618
guiltful1655
1489 W. Caxton tr. C. de Pisan Bk. Fayttes of Armes iv. xvi. sig. Siiiv For it were not ryght that a good man shulde putte hym self in parel ayenst another that euydently were knowen crymynal and lyuyng an yl lyffe.
1560 J. Knox Answer Great Nomber Blasphemous Cauillations 89 God purposed to reiect man before he was created. Ergò he did damne him before he was criminall or giltie.
1644 W. Prynne Moderate Apol. 1 Being..taxed by Master Iames Howell..as criminall of offering him very hard measure.
1689 G. Harvey Art of curing Dis. by Expectation vi. 38 These..Physicians are deservedly censured Criminal.
1726 W. R. Chetwood Voy. & Adventures Capt. R. Boyle 362 If criminal Persons were sent over there, they would find Employment.
1741 I. Watts Improvem. Mind i. iv. 72 Let us search our Hearts..and enquire how far we are criminal.
1851 R. Hussey Rise Papal Power iii. 144 Criminal clerks had not yet..exemption allowed them from all civil tribunals.
1889 Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 2 148 In criminal and psychopathic individuals [there is] a flattening of the frontal bone.
1912 A. C. Train Courts, Criminals & Camorra ix. 232 There is a society of criminal young men in New York City.
1933 A. L. Rowse Diary 22 July (2003) 78 They are such wretches, so feeble, so mentally-defective, even when not criminal.
1955 Britannica Bk. of Year 489/2 Youths who..formed themselves into hooligan or criminal gangs.
1976 Amer. Jrnl. Psychiatry 133 39/2 All the myths about opiates indicate that users are deviant, irretrievably sick, or criminal people.
2004 N.Y. Times Mag. 12 Dec. 72/2 The emergence of failed cities, where civil order succumbs to powerful criminal gangs.
B. n.† 1. A person accused of a crime. Obsolete.Recent use of criminal with reference to trials (e.g. ‘criminal in the dock’) is better understood as sense B. 2 with anticipatory or retrospective force.
ΚΠ
1558 J. Knox Appellation f. 5 v Neither yet..can they be to me competent iudges till place be granted vnto me openlie to proue my accusation intended against them, and they be compelled to make answer as criminalls.
1575 J. Rolland Treat. Court Venus iii. f. 38 Thay callit the criminall, With ane twme scheith set him on the Pannall.
1590 W. Welwood Sea-law of Scotl. xv. sig. C6 As for the criminalls..The admiral senn his erection amang vs is iudge propir and ordinair thairto.
1634 W. Tirwhyt tr. J. L. G. de Balzac Lett. 18 The number of Judges is not much inferiour to that of Criminals.
1681 J. Dryden Spanish Fryar v. ii. 75 Was ever Criminal forbid to plead?
1762 S. Foote Orators ii. 38 All criminals should be try'd per pares, by their equals.
2. (a) A person guilty or convicted of a crime. (b) A person with a tendency to commit crime.figurative in quot. 1610.Also as the final element in compounds, as computer, state-, thought, war criminal, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > criminality > criminal person > [noun]
felon1297
wandelard1338
malefactora1438
malfetoura1450
stigmatic1597
stigmatist1607
criminal1610
mug1865
crook1879
heavy man1926
society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > [noun] > crime > a criminal or law-breaker
waryOE
wandelard1338
breakerc1384
malefactora1438
law-breakerc1440
misgovernora1449
malfetoura1450
wrongdoer1501
contravener1567
criminal1610
contravenary1614
mug1865
crook1879
outlaw1880
punter1891
kink1914
heavy man1926
crim1927
antisocial1945
villain1960
banduluc1977
society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > [noun] > crime > a criminal or law-breaker > one with criminal tendencies
criminal1610
criminaloid1890
1610 R. Tofte tr. N. de Montreux Honours Acad. ii. 37 Why died I not, before the time in loue with thee I fell? Since thy plagues vndeserude, doe proue my soule a Criminell?
a1626 F. Bacon Felicity Q. Eliz. (1651) 160 Ruined..by justice and sentence, as Delinquents and Criminals.
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxvii. 157 In the violation of the Law, both the Author, and Actor are Criminalls.
1711 London Gaz. No. 4942/1 To condemn Criminals..to the Oar.
1772 J. Priestley Inst. Relig. I. 57 A magistrate..must be just, or take notice of crimes, and punish the criminals.
1822 J. Galt Provost xxix. 220 Mr. Pittle put up a few words for criminals under sentence of death.
1848 J. J. S. Wharton Law Lexicon 554/1 The Queen, in whose name criminals are prosecuted.
1879 Nation 3 July 9/2 Juries that do not honestly do their duty by criminals are morally answerable.
1883 Boston Daily Globe 27 May 4/6 A New York man..has invented an electrical chair for executing criminals.
1904 Westm. Gaz. 20 June 3/1 Thumb-mark impressions are..a precaution which..is only taken in the case of criminals.
1930 F. E. Haynes Criminol. i. 6 The ordinary conception of crime..conceives of criminals as free-willing, free-acting, vicious persons.
1964 J. Stewart tr. G. Simenon Maigret Mystified iv. 49 After the strenuous cross-examination of some criminal.
1991 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) Mar. 190 Sitting in the dock awaiting a sentence as a common criminal.
2002 New Republic 1 Apr. 33/2 Increasingly criminals were regarded as sick rather than evil.
Compounds
criminal code n. a system of jurisprudence to be applied in criminal cases.
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society > law > branch of the law > [noun] > criminal
crown law1647
criminal law1672
criminal code1700
1700 J. Tyrrell Gen. Hist. Eng. II. i. 69 These [laws] contain the Civil, as the former do the Criminal Code.
1829 Observer 19 Apr. 1/4 It is in vain that we pass measures for modifying the severity of our Criminal Code.
1937 Times 22 Dec. 14/5 The accused have been charged under several articles of the Criminal Code with inciting the populace to attack..the police.
2003 Economist 18 Jan. (Survey of Iran Suppl.) 9/1 Iran, perhaps because of its ferocious criminal code, is relatively free of violent crime.
criminal conversation n. unlawful sexual intercourse with a married person, adultery; a tort action based on this (cf. conversation n. 3); abbreviated crim. con.Criminal conversation was abolished in England in 1857, but remains a cause of action in several U.S. jurisdictions.
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society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > specific offences > [noun] > legal aspect of adultery
criminal conversation1716
crim. con.1730
1716 D. Manley Secret Mem. (new ed.) I. 91 If he had any criminal Conversation with my Mother, he took the utmost Pains to conceal the least Appearance of it from me.
1768 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. III. 139 Adultery, or criminal conversation with a man's wife.
1892 F. Pollock On Torts (ed. 3) 210 Against an adulterer the husband had an action at common law, commonly known as an action of criminal conversation.
1991 Tennessean 16 Apr. ii. 3/3 The tort of criminal conversation was first recognized by the Tennessee appellate courts in 1931.
criminal court n. a court having jurisdiction over criminal prosecutions.
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society > law > administration of justice > judicial body, assembly, or court > [noun] > criminal court
criminal court1605
Crown Court1660
1597 Lawes & Actes Table, at Courtes All Courtes, Civill and Criminall, suld be fensed at elleven houres before noone.]
1605 R. Dallington Suruey Great Dukes State Tuscany 57 This office hath intelligence of all matters in all criminall Courts in the state.
a1730 G. Guthrie Gideon Guthrie (1900) 56 Then the Presbyterie..summoned me to appear before a Criminal Court to be holden at Aberdeen.
1856 Law Times 27 122 But will soup so ladled out..support a barrister in the criminal courts?
1998 H. Strachan Way Up Way Out i. 7 Lay a hand on that animal just once more and you will find yourself in a criminal court!
criminal damage n. Law intentional or reckless damage to property belonging to another without a lawful excuse; the offence of causing such damage.
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1824 J. Stephen Slavery Brit. W. India Colonies Delineated I. v. 283 In the case of theft, or other criminal damage to the master's property, the magistrate did not interfere.
1930 N.Y. Times 9 Dec. 26/2 The Moscow engineers, charged with criminal damage at home and conspiracy abroad.
2004 H. Kennedy Just Law (2005) ix. 188 Amendments to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act will increase police powers to stop and search to cover items that they think might be used in criminal damage.
criminal injury n. Law a wrong or infringement constituting or caused by a criminal act; (in later use) spec. an injury sustained as the result of a violent crime; the offence of causing such an injury.
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1694 R. Ferguson Let. to Mr. Secretary Trenchard 18/1 Harry Baker,..did either feloniously rob, or militarily plunder Mr. Tildsley of a Purse full of old Gold... We hope that neither Harry Baker, nor you..are above being made responsible for this and divers other Criminal Injuries there perpetrated.
1768 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. III. 179 This is an injury of both a civil and a criminal nature... The criminal injury..is punished by fine to the king.
1880 N. Amer. Rev. Aug. 110 The prosecutions familiar at the present are those by individuals for damages for defamation, or by the State for criminal injury to such individuals.
1959 Times 10 Nov. 9/1 The Criminal Injuries Bill to provide compensation for the victims of crimes of violence is to be introduced in the House of Commons.
2002 G. Whyte Social Inclusion & Legal Syst. i. 12 She was entitled to compensation from the State because of certain criminal injuries sustained by her.
criminal intent n. chiefly Law the intention of committing a criminal act; the knowledge that a criminal act which one commits is wrong; cf. mens rea n.
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the mind > will > intention > [noun] > intention or purpose > criminal
criminal intent1683
mens rea1861
1683 Case Earl of Argyle 96 Must the Earl's words..be in this case understood as spoken maliciously, and with a criminal intent?
1742 London Mag. July 326/1 He may as well tell me, that when I see a Fellow breaking into my House in the Night-time, I ought in Charity to presume he has no criminal Intent.
1894 W. D. Smith Man. Elem. Law xii. 134 A crime consists of two elements, a criminal act and a criminal intent.
2003 Pop. Sci. June 74/1 The most obvious clues of criminal intent include gasoline trails or ‘splash and dash’ burn marks on carpeting, furniture and walls.
criminal investigation n. an investigation into a crime, usually seeking to identify the offender and build a legal case against him or her; also as a mass noun; cf. C.I.D. n. at C n. Initialisms 3.
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society > law > law enforcement > investigation of crime > [noun]
criminal investigation1799
detectiveship1877
detectivism1894
sleuthing1900
1799 R. Heron New Gen. Hist. Scotl. V. i. 460 A sudden plot against the Marquises..was pretended to have been detected..And a criminal investigation was commenced.
1822 Ann. Reg. 1820 34/2 The acts..had been the recent subject of criminal investigation.
1892 Times 5 Nov. 6/5 It was quite true that a criminal investigation had been held in reference to charges of fraud against him.
1937 Pop. Sci. Monthly Aug. 122/3 Your examination of vegetable tissues and fibers..is a type of microscope work highly useful in criminal investigation.
2000 T. Clancy Bear & Dragon xxi. 305 What the hell, he thought, a little competition was good for everybody, so long as CIA didn't mess with a criminal investigation.
criminal investigator n. a person who investigates crimes; a detective.In quot. 1855 as the title of a fictional newspaper.
ΚΠ
1855 Putnam's Monthly Jan. 29/2 A nameless gentleman..politely forwarded a copy of an article that was to appear in the Criminal Investigator of the next week.
1878 Judy 22 May 329/2 Only last Tuesday evening a well-known Criminal Investigator was so officious that he went out and actually took up his residence.
1902 A. Conan Doyle Hound of Baskervilles xiii. 206 It is the first quality of a criminal investigator that he should see through a disguise.
2009 Denver Post 17 Nov. 1 Denver criminal investigators have connected a man to two car thefts through the DNA of a family member.
criminal law n. the branch of law concerned with defining crimes and with prosecuting and punishing offenders; the body of law relating to crime; contrasted with civil law n. 3.
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society > law > branch of the law > [noun] > criminal
crown law1647
criminal law1672
criminal code1700
1672 G. Mackenzie Pleadings xiv. 170 Our Criminal Law being founded upon the Civil Law, ought in this, as in most other cases, to be squared by it.
1769 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. IV. i. 2 The code of criminal law; or, as it is more usually denominated with us in England, the doctrine of the pleas of the crown.
1883 J. F. Stephen Hist. Criminal Law II. xvi. 61 The question to which I refer is, whether the criminal law applies to what have sometimes been described as acts of State?
1952 J. Thompson Killer inside Me xvi. 91 He'd dropped out of politics and stuck to his criminal law practice.
2000 Police Feb. 13/2 The skilled police detective..needs an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of the criminal law and most especially the law pertaining to the admissibility of evidence.
criminal lawyer n. a lawyer specializing in criminal law.
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society > law > legal profession > lawyer > [noun] > lawyer dealing with specific type of business
conveyancer1650
prerogative lawyer1681
pettifogger1688
crown lawyer1738
criminal lawyer1753
Crown solicitor1779
trial lawyer1929
1753 Trial J. Stewart 50 The opinion of our great criminal lawyer Sir George Mackenzie, laid down in the strongest terms.
1887 J. R. Lowell Democracy & Other Addr. 29 An experienced criminal lawyer.
1991 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) Sept. 120/1 He might want to think about a more experienced criminal lawyer, since he's facing a murder-one charge.
criminal libel n. Law (a) Scots Law the form of complaint or ground of the charge on which a criminal prosecution takes place; cf. libel n. 3c (now historical); (b) the making of a malicious defamatory statement in a permanent form, such as writing, pictures, or film, in such a way as to be subject to criminal prosecution; cf. libel n. 5.
ΚΠ
1661 Marquis of Argyll Def. against Grand Indytement High Treason 15 Every Lybel both of civil Law, and our Law ought to be clear, distinct and special, but especially criminal lybels, because of the great importance of them.
1747 Trial of Archibald Stewart 202 Having considered the criminal Libel, pursued at the Instance of William Grant of Prestongrange, Esq.
1819 Monthly Mag. Aug. 3/2 A bookseller or printer is not more liable for the sole act of his servant, in a charge of criminal libel, than he would be in a charge of murder or theft against the same servant.
1908 Times 30 July 3/5 Mr Joel might have sought his remedy by action for libel or by prosecution for criminal libel.
1995 J. W. Cairns in J. Robertson Union for Empire x. 267 Scots lawyers turned to English law as a means of developing Scots law, because it was..the law of a neighbouring ‘well governed realm’ (to use the standard formula of the major premiss of a criminal libel).
2001 Independent 14 Aug. ii. 9/7 Ms Hewson suggests that Mr Hamilton could revive the old common law practice of prosecution for criminal libel..if the claims against him and his wife prove to be unfounded and really are ‘nonsense on stilts’.
criminal negligence n. egregious negligence; (Law) negligence which is serious enough to constitute grounds for criminal charges, typically through harming or endangering people or property.
ΚΠ
1706 W. Beauvoir tr. J. Esprit Disc. on Deceitfulness of Humane Virtues xii. 122 Errors then, that spring from the disorders of Passions, may be avoided, and cannot be plac'd among innocent Errors,..since they are the Effects of a criminal Negligence.
1836 Times 10 Sept. 6/6 The waterman..had acted in an imprudent manner in crossing the bows of the steamer, which they did not think amounted to criminal negligence.
1960 W. H. Jennings Canad. Law Bus. & Personal Use ii. 23 Assume Hudson drives her automobile at 120 km/h on a city street, running through several stop signs and automobile signal lights. This conduct constitutes criminal negligence.
2002 N.Y. Times 28 Apr. iv. 14/1 It would be criminal negligence for world diplomacy to miss taking advantage of such a moment.
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c1660 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1644 (1955) II. 221 The front of this Court [sc. the Piazza del Campidoglio, Rome] is crown'd with an incomparable fabrique, containing the Courts of Justice, and where the Criminal Notary sitts, and others.
1788 Gentleman's & London Mag. Nov. 609/2 The privileges which belonged to the suppressed Tribunal; amongst others, that of granting the lawyers liberty to exercise their function, and to admit civil and criminal notaries.
1867 Cornhill Mag. Aug. 232 ‘The walls and doors of the houses in the Via Vetra de Cittadini have been smeared with a pestilential ointment,’ said the Chief Justice to the criminal notary.
criminal record n. (a) a record of crimes or criminals in a particular place, period of time, etc. (now rare); (b) a list of a person's previous criminal convictions; a history of being convicted for crime.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > record > written record > [noun] > other types of written record
criminal record1687
police record1773
office copy1776
geological record1811
time card1837
phylactery1855
reservation1884
press cutting1888
record1897
trace1898
swindle sheet1906
form sheet1911
Dead Sea Scrolls1949
yellow card1970
1687 R. Wolley tr. N. Besongne Present State France (new ed.) i. xx. 187 There they have their Hall of Audience, their Council-Chamber, their Civil and Criminal Records, or Registers.
1722 R. Wodrow Hist. Sufferings Church of Scotl. II. iii. viii. 369 Let me give some larger Account of him, from the Criminal Records, the last Year when he was condemned, and other Papers.
1817 Edinb. Advertiser 23 Dec. 406/4 Turnbull is a familiar character in the criminal record.
1872 Med. Rec. 1 June 248/1 The Committee did not care to find him, any more than the Faculty..cared for the criminal record of the now alumnus.
1911 Jrnl. Amer. Folklore 24 293 Such characters, noted for their rowdyism and recklessness, sometimes with a criminal record, are usually called ‘bullies’.
1932 L. E. Lawes 20,000 Years in Sing Sing iv. 137 The man with a long criminal record..has prepared himself, through years of constant vigilance against the forces of law and order, for guerrilla warfare.
1957 Trans. Royal Hist. Soc. 7 120 At the close of the month the Folvilles reappear in the criminal records.
2004 Independent 30 Oct. 1/4 Civil rights groups say some states are using ‘purge lists’ (which bar anyone with a criminal record from voting) that will also prevent legitimate voters from casting ballots.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.c1400