tort
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tort¹
- /tɔːt/ UK
- /tɔɹt/ US
Sounds like torte, taught, taut (non-rhotic) · Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)t
Where it comes from
From Middle English tort (“(uncountable) wrong; (countable) an injury, a wrong”), from Old French tort (“misdeed, wrong”) (modern French tort (“an error, wrong; a fault”)), from Medieval Latin tortum (“injustice, wrong”), a noun use of a neuter singular participle form of Latin tortus (“crooked; twisted”), the perfect passive participle of torqueō (“to bend or twist awry, distort”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *terkʷ- (“to spin; to turn”).
Cognates
* Galician torto (“(adjective) bent; crooked; twisted; (noun, archaic) harm, offence; injustice, wrong, tort”)
* Italian torto (“(adjective) bent; crooked; twisted; (noun, archaic) injustice, wrong”)
* Norwegian Bokmål tort (dated, now only in fixed expressions)
* Norwegian Nynorsk tort (dated, now only in fixed expressions)
* Occitan tort
* Old French tort (modern French tort)
* Portuguese torto (“(adjective) bent; crooked; twisted; (noun, archaic) harm, offence; injustice, wrong”)
* Spanish tuerto (“injury, offence”)
noun torts
-
A wrongful act, whether intentional or negligent, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury and can be remedied in civil court, usually through the awarding of damages.
[…] Wrong or Iniury, is in French aptly called Tort, becauſe Iniury & wrong is wreſted or crooked, being contrary to that which is right and ſtreight. […] And Britton ſaith that Tort a la ley eſt contrarye [a wrong to the law is contrary], and as aptly for the cauſe aforeſaid is iniury in English ca
Similar: delict, tortfeasance, crime, delinquency, error, malfeasance, misdeed, misdemeanor, misdoing, offense, peccadillo, sin
- An injury or wrong. Then gan triumphant Trompets ſovvnd on hye, / That ſent to heuen the ecchoed report / Of their nevv ioy, and happie victory / Gainſt him, that had them long oppreſt with tort, / And faſt impriſoned in ſieged fort.
tort²
- /tɔːt/ UK
- /tɔɹt/ US
Sounds like torte, taught, taut (non-rhotic) · Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)t
Where it comes from
From Middle English tort, torte (“contorted, crooked; twisted”), from Old French tort, torte (“crooked; twisted”), or from its etymon Latin tortus (“crooked; twisted”): see further at etymology 1.
adjective
- Twisted. And the firſt that came and gaue them moſt comfort was Henry Erle of Lãcaſter with yͤ wrie neck, called Tort coll [torticollis], who was brother to Thomas Erle of Lãcaſter yͭ was behedded, as ye haue heard before, who was a right vertuous & good knight as after ye ſhal here.
tort³
- /tɔːt/ UK
- /tɔɹt/ US
Sounds like torte, taught, taut (non-rhotic) · Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)t
Where it comes from
A variant of tart.
adjective more tort · most tort
-
Synonym of tart (“sharp- or sour-tasting; (figuratively) keen, severe, sharp”)
Similar: tart
tort⁴
- /tɔːt/ UK
- /tɔɹt/ US
Sounds like torte, taught, taut (non-rhotic) · Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)t
Where it comes from
A variant of taut.
adjective torter · tortest
-
Synonym of taut (“stretched tight; under tension”).
Yet holds he them with tortest rein, / That they may seize and entertain / The glance that to their glance opposes, / Like fiery honey sucked from roses.
Similar: taut
- Of a boat: watertight.
tort⁵
- /tɔːt/ UK
- /tɔɹt/ US
Sounds like torte, taught, taut (non-rhotic) · Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)t
Where it comes from
Clipping of tortoise.
noun torts
- Clipping of tortoise
tort⁶
- /tɔːt/ UK
- /tɔɹt/ US
Sounds like torte, taught, taut (non-rhotic) · Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)t
Where it comes from
Clipping of tortoiseshell.
noun torts
- Clipping of tortoiseshell (“a domestic cat, guinea pig, rabbit, or other animal whose fur has black, brown, and yellow markings; a tortie”).
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: civil wrong, harm, damage, injurious, injury, grievance, fault, misdemeanour, offense, violation, infringement, wrongdoing, crime, wrong, felony, misdemeanor
Translations
Every language
noun wrongful act, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury
| Español | delito civil, agravio extracontractual, tort, entuerto |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 불법행위 bulbeophaeng'wi |
| 日本語 | 不法行為 fuhō kōi |
| 中文 | 侵權行為 /侵权行为 qīnquán xíngwéi |
| हिन्दी | अपकृत्य apkŕtya |
| Português | ato ilícito |
| Français | délit civil |
| Deutsch | unerlaubte Handlung |
| Italiano | illecito civile |
| Ελληνικά | αδικοπραξία adikopraxía |
| العربية | الضرر في القانون |
| עברית | דיני נזיקין |
Talk about this word "tort." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tort. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. tort. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tort "tort." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tort.Cite this
@misc{tort_2026,
title = {tort},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tort},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
