Etymology

From Middle EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Middle English#PARDONCategory:English terms derived from Middle English#PARDON pardonen, from Old FrenchCategory:English terms derived from Old French#PARDON pardoner (modern French pardonner), from Late LatinCategory:English terms derived from Late Latin#PARDON perdonare, from per- + donare, possibly a calque (if not vice-versa) of a GermanicCategory:English terms derived from Germanic languages#PARDON word represented by Frankish *firgeban (“to forgive, give up completely”), from *fir- + *geban. Akin to Old High German fargeban, firgeban (“to forgive”), Old English forġiefan (“to forgive”). More at forgive.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɑːdn̩/Category:English 2-syllable words#PARDONCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#PARDON
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈpɑɹdn̩/, [ˈpʰɑ˞dn̩]Category:English 2-syllable words#PARDONCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#PARDON

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

  Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#PARDON
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈpaːdɘn/, [ˈpʰäːɾɘn]Category:English 2-syllable words#PARDONCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#PARDON
• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)dənCategory:Rhymes:English/ɑː(ɹ)dən#PARDONCategory:Rhymes:English/ɑː(ɹ)dən/2 syllables#PARDON
• Hyphenation: par‧don

Noun

pardon (countable and uncountable, plural pardons)Category:English lemmas#PARDONCategory:English nouns#PARDONCategory:English uncountable nouns#PARDONCategory:English countable nouns#PARDONCategory:English countable nouns#PARDONCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#PARDONCategory:Pages with entries#PARDONCategory:Pages with 9 entries#PARDON

1. Forgiveness for an offence.

   Synonym: clemency

   • 1748, [Samuel Richardson], Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson;  […], →OCLC:

     […] a step, that could not be taken with the least hope of ever obtaining pardon from or reconciliation with any of my friends; […]

     Category:English terms with quotations#PARDON

   • 1997, Denise Keyes Filios, Women Out of Bounds:

     According to this logic, the pardons Balteira gained on her pilgrimage should have revirginated her, and would have if she had an 'iron box', or a firm dedication to her Christian faith, with which to guard her chastity.”

     Category:English terms with quotations#PARDON

2. (lawCategory:en:Law#PARDON) An order that releases a convicted criminal without further punishment, prevents future punishment, or (in some jurisdictions) removes an offence from a person's criminal record, as if it had never been committed.

   The President […] shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.Category:English terms with usage examples#PARDON

   • 1974 September 8, Gerald R. Ford, 00:24 from the start, in Proclamation 4311‎, archived from the original on 18 May 2017, page 2‎:

     NOW, THEREFORE, I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States, pursuant to the pardon power conferred upon me by Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution, have granted and by these presents do grant a full, free, and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon for all offenses against the United States which he, Richard Nixon, has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from July^{[sic – meaning January]} 20, 1969 through August 9, 1974.

     Category:English terms with quotations#PARDON

   • 2001, Barbara Olson, “The Final Frenzy: Finishing Touches on the Legend”, in The Final Days: The Last, Desperate Abuses of Power by the Clinton White House‎ (Politics/Current Affairs), Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 7:

     But the president's most irreversible, almost God-like power is the authority granted to him under Article II, Section 2, of the United States Constitution, "to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses Against the United States. . . ."
     The power is absolute-even a serial killer could be pardoned-and utterly unreviewable. It cannot be rescinded by the next president. The president may grant a pardon before a trial, after a trial, or without a trial. Once granted, a pardon can never be taken away.

     Category:English terms with quotations#PARDON

   • 2024 December 5, Marshall Cohen, MJ Lee, Paula Reid and Katelyn Polantz, “Biden White House considering preemptive pardons for Trump’s perceived enemies”, in CNN‎:

     A source familiar with Trump legal strategy says his team believes Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter has set a new precedent for presidents to issue expansive pardons to their children – and this could be something Trump chooses to do before he leaves office.

     Category:English terms with quotations#PARDON

Verb

pardon (third-person singular simple present pardons, present participle pardoning, simple past and past participle pardoned)Category:English lemmas#PARDONCategory:English verbs#PARDONCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#PARDONCategory:Pages with entries#PARDONCategory:Pages with 9 entries#PARDON

1. (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#PARDON) To forgive (a person).

   Synonym: amnesty

   • 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, / That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!

     Category:English terms with quotations#PARDON

   • 1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], Emma: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John Murray, →OCLC:

     I hope you will not find he has outstepped the truth more than may be pardoned, in consideration of the motive.

     Category:English terms with quotations#PARDON

   • 1793 March 19, Hester Piozzi, Thraliana:

     Well! the King of France died pardoning & pitying all those who had tortured his Soul & Body, a great Pattern for us all.

     Category:English terms with quotations#PARDON

   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

     In the old days, to my commonplace and unobserving mind, he gave no evidences of genius whatsoever. He never read me any of his manuscripts, […], and therefore my lack of detection of his promise may in some degree be pardoned.

     Category:English terms with quotations#PARDON

2. (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#PARDON) To refrain from exacting as a penalty.
   • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:

     I pardon thee thy life before thou ask it.

     Category:English terms with quotations#PARDON

3. (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#PARDON, lawCategory:en:Law#PARDON) To grant an official pardon for a crime.
   • 1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC:

     The murderer, he recalled, had been tried and sentenced to imprisonment for life, but was pardoned by a merciful governor after serving a year of his sentence.

     Category:English terms with quotations#PARDON

   • 2024 December 5, Marshall Cohen, MJ Lee, Paula Reid and Katelyn Polantz, “Biden White House considering preemptive pardons for Trump’s perceived enemies”, in CNN‎:

     In that situation, that memo would include a list of individuals that Biden might consider pardoning preemptively, the context about any prior legal precedent, and a discussion of the wide range of potential ramifications if the president does move forward with these pardons.

     Category:English terms with quotations#PARDON

   • 2025 March 28, Kevin Liptak, “Trump pardons Trevor Milton, who was accused of fraud related to bankrupt truck maker Nikola”, in CNN‎:

     President Donald Trump says he pardoned Trevor Milton, the CEO of now-defunct hydrogen and electric truck firm Nikola, in part because he believed Milton was persecuted for supporting Trump’s political ambitions.

     Category:English terms with quotations#PARDON

Interjection

pardon?Category:English lemmas#PARDONCategory:English interjections#PARDONCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#PARDONCategory:Pages with entries#PARDONCategory:Pages with 9 entries#PARDON

1. Often used when someone does not understand what another person says.

Anagrams

• Padron

Alternative forms

• pardón

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈpardon]Category:Czech terms with IPA pronunciation#PARDON

• Audio:

  (file)

  Category:Czech terms with audio pronunciation#PARDON

Interjection

pardonCategory:Czech lemmas#PARDONCategory:Czech interjections#PARDONCategory:Czech entries with incorrect language header#PARDONCategory:Pages with entries#PARDONCategory:Pages with 9 entries#PARDON

1. sorry, I'm sorry, I beg your pardon, I apologize

   Synonyms: omlouvám se, promiňte, promiň, sorry, soráč

Further reading

• “pardon”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “pardon”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

Etymology

Borrowed from FrenchCategory:Dutch terms borrowed from French#PARDONCategory:Dutch terms derived from French#PARDON pardon.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɑrˈdɔn/Category:Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation#PARDON

• Audio:

  (file)

  Category:Dutch terms with audio pronunciation#PARDON
• Hyphenation: par‧don
• Rhymes: -ɔnCategory:Rhymes:Dutch/ɔn#PARDON

Interjection

pardonCategory:Dutch lemmas#PARDONCategory:Dutch interjections#PARDONCategory:Dutch entries with incorrect language header#PARDONCategory:Pages with entries#PARDONCategory:Pages with 9 entries#PARDON

2. I'm sorry, pardon

Noun

pardon n (plural pardons, no diminutive)Category:Dutch lemmas#PARDONCategory:Dutch nouns#PARDONCategory:Dutch nouns with plural in -s#PARDONCategory:Dutch entries with incorrect language header#PARDONCategory:Dutch neuter nouns#PARDONCategory:Pages with entries#PARDONCategory:Pages with 9 entries#PARDON

2. (lawCategory:nl:Law#PARDON) pardon, clemency

Etymology

Deverbal from pardonnerCategory:French deverbals#PARDON.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /paʁ.dɔ̃/Category:French 2-syllable words#PARDONCategory:French terms with IPA pronunciation#PARDON

• Audio (France):

  (file)

  Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#PARDON

• Audio (Quebec):

  (file)

  Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#PARDON

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

  Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#PARDON

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

  Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#PARDON

Interjection

pardonCategory:French lemmas#PARDONCategory:French interjections#PARDONCategory:French entries with incorrect language header#PARDONCategory:Pages with entries#PARDONCategory:Pages with 9 entries#PARDON

1. excuse me
2. sorry

Noun

pardon m (plural pardons)Category:French lemmas#PARDONCategory:French nouns#PARDONCategory:French countable nouns#PARDONCategory:French entries with incorrect language header#PARDONCategory:French masculine nouns#PARDONCategory:Pages with entries#PARDONCategory:Pages with 9 entries#PARDON

1. pardon, forgiveness

Further reading

• “pardon”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Anagrams

• pondra

Etymology

From FrenchCategory:Hungarian terms borrowed from French#PARDONCategory:Hungarian terms derived from French#PARDON pardon, primarily via GermanCategory:Hungarian terms borrowed from German#PARDONCategory:Hungarian terms derived from German#PARDON Pardon.^[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈpɒrdon]Category:Hungarian terms with IPA pronunciation#PARDON
• Hyphenation: par‧don
• Rhymes: -onCategory:Rhymes:Hungarian/on#PARDONCategory:Rhymes:Hungarian/on/2 syllables#PARDON

Interjection

pardonCategory:Hungarian lemmas#PARDONCategory:Hungarian interjections#PARDONCategory:Hungarian entries with incorrect language header#PARDONCategory:Pages with entries#PARDONCategory:Pages with 9 entries#PARDON

1. pardon!, pardon me!, excuse me!, I beg your pardon!, sorry!

   Synonym: bocsánat

Noun

pardonCategory:Hungarian lemmas#PARDONCategory:Hungarian nouns#PARDONCategory:Hungarian entries with incorrect language header#PARDONCategory:Pages with entries#PARDONCategory:Pages with 9 entries#PARDON

1. (datedCategory:Hungarian dated terms#PARDON, lawCategory:hu:Law#PARDON) pardon

   Synonym: kegyelem

References

Further reading

• pardon in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

Etymology

Borrowed from FrenchCategory:Polish terms borrowed from French#PARDONCategory:Polish terms derived from French#PARDON pardon.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpar.dɔn/, /parˈdɔw̃/Category:Polish 2-syllable words#PARDONCategory:Polish 2-syllable words#PARDONCategory:Polish terms with IPA pronunciation#PARDON

• Audio:

  (file)

  Category:Polish terms with audio pronunciation#PARDON
• Rhymes: -ardɔn, -ɔw̃Category:Rhymes:Polish/ardɔn#PARDONCategory:Rhymes:Polish/ardɔn/2 syllables#PARDONCategory:Rhymes:Polish/ɔw̃#PARDONCategory:Rhymes:Polish/ɔw̃/2 syllables#PARDON
• Syllabification: par‧don

Noun

pardon m inanCategory:Polish lemmas#PARDONCategory:Polish nouns#PARDONCategory:Polish entries with incorrect language header#PARDONCategory:Polish masculine nouns#PARDONCategory:Polish inanimate nouns#PARDONCategory:Pages with entries#PARDONCategory:Pages with 9 entries#PARDON

1. (datedCategory:Polish dated terms#PARDON) pardon, forgiveness

   Synonyms: przebaczenie, wybaczenie

Interjection

pardonCategory:Polish lemmas#PARDONCategory:Polish interjections#PARDONCategory:Polish entries with incorrect language header#PARDONCategory:Pages with entries#PARDONCategory:Pages with 9 entries#PARDON

1. (colloquialCategory:Polish colloquialisms#PARDON) sorry, excuse me, I beg your pardon

   Synonym: przepraszam

Further reading

• “pardon”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎ (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “pardon”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎ (in Polish)

Etymology

Borrowed from FrenchCategory:Romanian terms borrowed from French#PARDONCategory:Romanian terms derived from French#PARDON pardon.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /parˈdon/Category:Romanian terms with IPA pronunciation#PARDON

Interjection

pardonCategory:Romanian lemmas#PARDONCategory:Romanian interjections#PARDONCategory:Romanian entries with incorrect language header#PARDONCategory:Pages with entries#PARDONCategory:Pages with 9 entries#PARDON

1. pardon!, pardon me!, excuse me!, I beg your pardon!, sorry!

Noun

pardon n (uncountable)Category:Romanian lemmas#PARDONCategory:Romanian nouns#PARDONCategory:Romanian uncountable nouns#PARDONCategory:Romanian entries with incorrect language header#PARDONCategory:Romanian neuter nouns#PARDONCategory:Pages with entries#PARDONCategory:Pages with 9 entries#PARDON

1. (datedCategory:Romanian dated terms#PARDON) pardon, pardoning, forgiveness, excuse

Noun

pardon cCategory:Swedish lemmas#PARDONCategory:Swedish nouns#PARDONCategory:Swedish entries with incorrect language header#PARDONCategory:Swedish common-gender nouns#PARDONCategory:Pages with entries#PARDONCategory:Pages with 9 entries#PARDON

1. (usually negated) mercy

   utan pardon ― without mercyCategory:Swedish terms with usage examples#PARDON

References

• “pardon”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “pardon”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “pardon”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)

Anagrams

• pandor

Etymology

From Ottoman TurkishCategory:Turkish terms inherited from Ottoman Turkish#PARDONCategory:Turkish terms derived from Ottoman Turkish#PARDON پاردون (pardon), from FrenchCategory:Turkish terms derived from French#PARDON pardon.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɑɾ.don/Category:Turkish terms with IPA pronunciation#PARDON

Interjection

pardonCategory:Turkish lemmas#PARDONCategory:Turkish interjections#PARDONCategory:Turkish entries with incorrect language header#PARDONCategory:Pages with entries#PARDONCategory:Pages with 9 entries#PARDON

1. pardon!, pardon me!, excuse me!, I beg your pardon!, sorry!