Indemnis

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term denoting a form of compensation or security against loss or damage
2. used in legal contexts to refer to a protection or reimbursement for potential liabilities
3. describing the assurance provided to offset risks or expenses incurred by one party due to the actions of another

Etymology: Before it meant a payment for loss, this Latin adjective meant simply "unhurt" or "undamaged." It is built from the negative prefix "in-" and "damnum," meaning "loss" or "harm," so its core sense is being free from injury. The same root reaches English through several routes. "Damnum" gave Old French "damage," and it is the source of Latin "damnare," "to condemn," which is the ancestor of English "damn." Those are distant cousins, sharing only the idea of harm. In Medieval Latin, the adjective was extended into the noun "indemnitas," which described the state of being protected against loss. English "indemnity" comes from that noun, and the legal sense of compensation for a loss grew out of it.

Synonyms: indemnities, compensations, reparations, damages, reimbursements