arson
/ˈɑːs(ə)n
/noun [mass noun]
The criminal act of deliberately setting fire to property: police are treating the fire as arson [as modifier]: an arson attack...
- The fire was caused by arson, but so far the culprit has not been caught.
- However, experts have since cast doubt over the forensic tests used to decide the fire was arson.
- It is not known what caused the fire, but arson or a discarded cigarette end have not been ruled out.
Synonyms
incendiarism, pyromania, firebombing;
British fire-raising
Origin
Late 17th century: an Anglo-Norman French legal term, from medieval Latin arsio(n-), from Latin ardere 'to burn'.
This was an Anglo-Norman legal term which came from Latin ardere ‘to burn’.