arraign

Meaning

Verb

1. (with-on) To officially charge someone in a court of law.
2. To call to account, or accuse, before the bar of reason, taste, or any other tribunal.

Noun

Arraignment.

Synonyms

accuse

indict

charge

sue

try

reproach

prosecute

incriminate

blame

judge

🧑‍⚖️

litigate

process

recriminate

summon

take to court

action

adjudicate

cite

decry

fault

impeach

impute

inculpate

Translations

accuser

suçlamak

κατηγορώ

anklagen

καταγγέλλω

accusare

itham etmek

beschuldigen

εγκαλώ

oppugnare

acusar

traduire en justice

vor Gericht bringen

incriminer

beschuldigen

Pronounced as (IPA)

/əˈɹeɪn/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: arreinen

Cognate with French: arraisonner

In summary

From Middle English areynen (“to interrogate, arraign, reprimand”), from Anglo-Norman areiner, arener, from Old French araisnier, areisnier, aresnier (“to speak to, address; accuse (in a law court)”) (whence modern French arraisonner (“to verify cargo, to arraign”)), from Vulgar Latin *arratiōnāre, from Latin adratiōnāre, from ad (“to”) + *ratiōnāre (“to reason, talk reasonably, talk”), from ratiō (“reason, reasoning, discourse”), from rat-, past-participle stem of rērī (“to reckon, calculate”). First attested in the late 14th century. Doublet of areason.
About the -g- within the word, Etymonline and the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary both agrees that it is present by hypercorrection and appears since the 16th century. The Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) and the Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology (1986) however, provides two etymological links each, which are Old French aragnier and araigner. The Oxford English Dictionary (1885, 1989) did not support either of these hypotheses, but did attribute Old French arraigner, arainer to an unrelated obsolete sense and etymon.