- mayhem
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may·hem /'mā-ˌhem, -əm/ n [Anglo-French mahaim mahain, literally, mutilation, from Old French mahain, from mahaignier to injure, mutilate]: willful and permanent crippling, mutilation, or disfigurement of any part of another's body; also: the crime of engaging in mayhem◇ Under the Model Penal Code and the codes of the states that follow it, mayhem is encompassed by assault and aggravated assault.
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.
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n.(1) Violent disorder or chaos.(2) The crime of maliciously injuring, maiming, or dismembering someone so as to render the victim permanently unable to fight.
The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Amy Hackney Blackwell. 2008.
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Historically, injuring someone's body (particularly by depriving him of the use of his arms, legs, eyes, or other body parts), in a way that makes him less able to fight or defend himself. Modern law treats such acts as an aggravated battery. (See also: aggravated battery)Category: Criminal LawCategory: Small Claims Court & Lawsuits
Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. Gerald N. Hill, Kathleen Thompson Hill. 2009.
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n. Violent, disorderly behavior.
Webster's New World Law Dictionary. Susan Ellis Wild. 2000.
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Mayhem at common law required a type of injury that permanently rendered the victim less able to fight offensively or defensively; it might be accomplished either by the removal of (dismemberment), or by the disablement of, some bodily member useful in fighting. Today, by statute, permanent disfigurement has been added; and as to dismemberment and disablement, there is no longer a requirement that the member have military significance. In many states the crime of mayhem is treated as aggravated assault.
Dictionary from West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005.
- mayhem
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Mayhem at common law required a type of injury that permanently rendered the victim less able to fight offensively or defensively; it might be accomplished either by the removal of (dismemberment), or by the disablement of, some bodily member useful in fighting. Today, by statute, permanent disfigurement has been added; and as to dismemberment and disablement, there is no longer a requirement that the member have military significance. In many states the crime of mayhem is treated as aggravated assault.
Short Dictionary of (mostly American) Legal Terms and Abbreviations.
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1) n. the criminal act of disabling, disfiguring or cutting off or making useless one of the members (leg, arm, hand, foot, eye) of another either intentionally or in a fight, called maiming. The serious nature of the injury makes mayhem a felony, which is called "aggravated assault" in most states.2) v. to commit mayhem is to cause gross harm in an uncontrolled fashion.
Law dictionary. EdwART. 2013.
