Amnesties

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A form of pardon granted to a group, excusing their past offenses or legal violations
2. An act of forgiveness that absolves individuals from prosecution or punishment for specific actions
3. A legal provision that allows for the dismissal of charges against individuals under certain conditions

Etymology: "Amnesties" is the plural of "amnesty," and the singular carries a Greek idea of deliberate forgetting. The Ancient Greek "amnēstía" came from "amnēstos," meaning "forgotten" or "not to be remembered," built from the negating prefix "a-" and a root tied to memory. The sense was not legal at first; it pointed to wiping a past wrong out of mind. The word passed through Latin "amnestia" into Middle French "amnestie," and later Modern French "amnistie," before reaching English. Its legal meaning, a formal decision to set aside offences, came with that route, so the modern sense of a pardon for a group of people reflects the official act of ordering a past wrong to be forgotten.

Synonyms: pardon, forgiveness, absolution

Antonyms: punishment, penalty