lese majesty
- noun
- /ˈleɪzeɪ ˈmædʒəsti/
- Formal
:
lesa majestad
- It may well be an act of lese-majesty, but here goes: one possible interpretation of the film, Bono, is that, without Edge, you'd still be in the Baggot Inn.
Examples
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In many countries, criticizing the monarch can lead to charges of lese majesty and serious legal consequences.
-
He had been thrown in jail under lese majesty for saying he wished he'd been born a prince.
Fiction book (1996) -
He was arrested and charged with lese majesty for insulting the king during a public speech.
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The law against lese majesty serves to protect the dignity of the state and its leaders.
Surface Forms
Morphology
lese + majesty
The first element 'lese' is not a standard English word (a borrowing from French) and has no transparent, commonly known meaning for B1 learners, while 'majesty' only indicates royal dignity. Because the compound is a legalized, language-specific term (lèse‑majesté) whose specific sense 'offense against the sovereign' is specialized and not directly derivable from the visible parts, it would be unintelligible to a B1 learner who has not seen the expression before.
Etymology
Lese majesty comes from old legal language: the part lese comes from a French word meaning 'to hurt' and majesty means the ruler's honor. So it originally meant 'hurting the ruler's honor', and today it is used for acts that show serious disrespect to a monarch or the state.
