Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Tort |
TortNoun1. Any wrongdoing for which and action for damages may be brought. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "tort" was first used: sometime around 1250. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Finance | A wrongful act committed against another person or against another person's property, for which the injured party is entitled to compensation. (references) |
Law | A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Under United States law, torts are generally divided into two categories: intentional torts and non-intentional torts. Intentional torts include those actions that are intentional and voluntary and that are made with knowledge by the tortfeasor (i.e. the person who committed the tort) upon the plaintiff (the one who brings the complaint seeking relief). Intentional torts include: battery, assault (apprehension of harmful or offensive contact), false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, the real property tort of trespass to land, and the personal property torts of conversion and trespass to chattels.
Amongst unintentional torts one finds negligence as being the most common source of ligitation in most American courts. It is a form of extracontractual liability that is based upon a duty of care of a reasonable person, who, being the proximate cause of damages, and but for the tortfeasor's act, is the cause of damages to the plaintiff. Other non-intentional torts include negligent infliction of emotional harm.
There is some overlap between tort law and criminal law -- some acts may at once constitute both a tort and a crime -- and many crimes may be viewed as particularly egregious torts. A cause of action in tort can also be distinguished from a criminal prosecution which may arise from the alleged violation of a criminal statute. The former is typically prosecuted by a private citizen, whereas the latter is prosecuted by the state, and one or both may be brought forth independently. Moreover, remedies for torts can take the form of compensation for damages or injunctive relief. A criminal prosecution usually results in the imposition of a sentence, such as a fine and/or incarceration.
See:
Abuse of process, Defamation, Good faith, Legal immunity, Loss of consortium, Interference with contractual relations, Malicious prosecution, Malpractice, Negligence, Negligence per se, Passing off, Product liability, Proximate cause, Remedies, Res ipsa loquitur, Slander and libel, Trespass
Well-known tort cases: Stella Liebeck v. McDonald's Corporation, Donoghue v. Stevenson, Gutnick v. Dow Jones
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Tort."
Synonym: TortSynonym: civil wrong (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Absurdity | Verb: play the fool; talk nonsense, parler a tort et a travess; battre la campagne; gr/ hanemolia bazein/gr be -absurd; Adjective: |
Disagreement | Adverb: in defiance, in contempt,in spite of; discordantly; Adjective: a tort et a travers. |
Reasoning, | Cut blocks with a razor, beat about the bush, play fast and loose, play fast and loose with the facts, blow hot and cold, prove that black is white and white black, travel out of the record, parler a tort et a travers, put oneself out of court, not have a leg to stand on. |
Resolution | At any rate, at any risk, at any hazard at any price, at any cost, at any sacrifice; at all hazards, at all risks, at all events; a bis ou a blanc; cost what it may; coute; a tort et a travers; once for all; neck or nothing; rain or shine. |
Undueness | Usurpation, tort, violation, breach, encroachment, presumption, assumption, seizure; stretch, exaction, imposition, lion's share. |
Wrong | Injustice; tort; unfairness; Adjective: iniquity, foul play. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Tort |
| English words defined with "tort": alienation of affection ♦ libel ♦ Nul ♦ tort-feasor, Tortious. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "tort": righteousness ♦ tort executor, tortfeasor ♦ Ventre-saint-Gris!. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "tort": Torteau, Tortious. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Tort" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses. French (detriment, fault, grievance, harm, injury, mischief, shortcoming, wrong), German (injustice, wrong), Manx (heed, tort), Polish (pie, tart), Romanian (cake, pie, thread). |
| Domain | Usage | |
Lyrics | Alors j'ai tort de croire en d'autres Nords (I Will Love Again; performing artist: Lara Fabian) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Je sais que j'ai tort mais demandez mes copains ils disent la même chose (1983) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Economic History | Israel | In addition, a tort action may be brought against an individual who divulges a trade secret. (references) |
Barbados | Former Tutor in Management, Law Of Tort And Family Law at the University Of The West Indies, Former Senator, Barbados Senate. (references) | |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | RIGHTEOUSNESS, n. A sturdy virtue that was once found among the Pantidoodles inhabiting the lower part of the peninsula of Oque. Some feeble attempts were made by returned missionaries to introduce it into several European countries, but it appears to have been imperfectly expounded. An example of this faulty exposition is found in the only extant sermon of the pious Bishop Rowley, a characteristic passage from which is here given: "Now righteousness consisteth not merely in a holy state of mind, nor yet in performance of religious rites and obedience to the letter of the law. It is not enough that one be pious and just: one must see to it that others also are in the same state; and to this end compulsion is a proper means. Forasmuch as my injustice may work ill to another, so by his injustice may evil be wrought upon still another, the which it is as manifestly my duty to estop as to forestall mine own tort. Wherefore if I would be righteous I am bound to restrain my neighbor, by force if needful, in all those injurious enterprises from which, through a better disposition and by the help of Heaven, I do myself restrain." |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Tort" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 97.05% of the time. "Tort" is used about 373 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 97.05% | 362 | 14,906 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 1.88% | 7 | 133,076 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 0.8% | 3 | 202,518 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.27% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 373 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "tort": a tort et a travers ♦ action in tort ♦ Executor de son tort ♦ parler a tort et a travers ♦ tort executor ♦ Tort feasor. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "tort": tort-feasor. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "tort"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | dhimbje reumatike (rheumatic pain). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 侵权行为. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | přeèin (misdemeanor, misdemeanour). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Danish | erstatningssag uden for kontrakt,for så vidt disse har forbindelse med arbejdsforholdet (tort committed at work), ansvar uden for kontraktsforhold (delict or quasidelict, liability in tort). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | vordering wegens onrechtmatige daad (action for trespass, action in tort, claim in tort), recht inzake onrechtmatige daad (law of tort), opzettelijk misdrijf (intentional tort), een bij de arbeid gepleegde onrechtmatige daad (tort committed at work), actie uit onrechtmatige daad (action for trespass, action in tort, claim in tort), aansprakelijkheid uit onrechtmatige daad (delict or quasidelict, liability in tort). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Farsi | ضرر (Detriment, Harm, Loss, Washout), اسیب (Damage, Harm, Hurt, Inconvenience, Injury, Lesion, Mar, Strain, Trauma), شبه جرم . (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | oikeudenloukkauskanne (action for trespass, action in tort, claim in tort). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | préjudice, dommage, acte dommageable. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | Schadensersatzrecht. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | ζημιά (damage, decrement, detriment, disservice, harm, hurt, injury, loss, mischief, prejudice), αδίκημα (malpractice, misdeed, offence, wrong). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | kár (damage, detriment, disadvantage, disservice, expense, harm, ill, impairment, injury, loss, mischief, mischievousness, nuisance, pity, toll). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | responsabilit di diritto (strict liability in tort), responsabilit da delitto o quasi-delitto (delict or quasidelict, liability in tort), reato commesso in occasione del lavoro (tort committed at work), diritto del risarcimento per fatto illecito (law of tort), azione per fatto illecito (action for trespass, action in tort, claim in tort). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 不法行為 . (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | ふほう"うい. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manx | tort (heed). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | orttay dano (damnification, detriment, harm, hurt, injury, loss, mischief, prejudice, scathe). (various references) деликт (delict). (various references) delikt (delict). (various references) responsabilidad delictiva o cuasidelictiva (delict or quasidelict, liability in tort), derecho delictual (law of tort), demanda civil (action in tort), delito cometido con ocasión del trabajo (tort committed at work). (various references) förseelse (delinquency, error, lapse, misdemeanor, misdemeanour, offence, offense, wrongdoing). (various references) haksızlık (inequity, iniquity, injustice, invidiousness, raw deal, unjustness, unrighteousness, wrong, wrongdoing, wrongness), haksız muamele (raw deal), haksız fiil. (various references) việc l m có hại. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Medieval Latin | 700-1500 | tortum. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "tort": torte, tortellini, tortellinis, torten, tortes, torticollis, torticollises, tortile, tortilla, tortillas, tortious, tortiously, tortoise, tortoises, tortoiseshell, tortoiseshells, tortoni, tortonis, tortricid, tortricids, tortrix, tortrixes, torts, tortuosities, tortuosity, tortuous, tortuously, tortuousness, tortuousnesses, torture, tortured, torturer, torturers, tortures, torturing, torturous, torturously. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "tort": bistort, contort, distort, extort, intort, retort. (additional references) | |
Words containing "tort": bistorts, contorted, contorting, contortion, contortionist, contortionistic, contortionists, contortions, contortive, contorts, distorted, distorter, distorters, distorting, distortion, distortional, distortions, distorts, extorted, extorter, extorters, extorting, extortion, extortionary, extortionate, extortionately, extortioner, extortioners, extortionist, extortionists, extortions, extortive, extorts, intorted, intorting, intorts, motortruck, motortrucks, retorted, retorter, retorters, retorting, retorts, undistorted. (additional references) | |
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"Tort" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: jort, kort, rort, tdor, tert, tirt, todt, toet, toi, toit, tomt, tont, Toor, toord, topt, tor, tora, torc, tord, torda, torf, torg, torit, torita, tork, torl, torm, toro, torp, torq, torta, Torti, toru, torx, Tost, to't, tott, tourt, towt, trof, troft, troit, trotty, turd, turit, turnt, turq, turrr, turt, Tvor, Tvrtko, tyrt, vort, vtsoft. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "tort" (pronounced tô"rt) |
| 4 | t ô" r t | contort, distort, extort, torte. |
| 3 | -ô" r t | abort, assort, athwart, boart, bort, cavort, comport, consort, court, deport, escort, exhort, Fort, forte, import, misreport, Mort, ort, port, quart, report, resort, short, snort, sort, sport, support, Swart, teleport, thwart, transport, underreport, wart. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: trot. | |
| Words within the letters "o-r-t-t" | |
-1 letter: ort, rot, tor, tot. | |
-2 letters: or, to. | |
| Words containing the letters "o-r-t-t" | |
+1 letter: ottar, otter, rotte, tarot, torot, torte, torts, toter, troth, trots, trout, tutor. | |
+2 letters: attorn, bettor, cottar, cotter, dotter, extort, grotto, grotty, hotter, intort, jotter, ottars, otters, potter, prutot, ratton, retort, rotate, rotgut, rotted, rotten, rotter, rottes, stator, tarots, throat, tooter, toroth, torten, tortes, toters, tother, totter, touter, tricot, triton, troths, trotyl, trouts, trouty, trowth, tryout, turbot, tutors. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)54 6F 72 74 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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| American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)
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| Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)
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| Braille (1829, in France) (references)
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Morse Code (1836) (references)- --- .-. - |
| Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)
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Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01010100 01101111 01110010 01110100 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)T o r t |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0054 006F 0072 0074 |
| British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)
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Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)54818486 |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Quotations: Non-fiction 8. Usage Frequency | 9. Expressions 10. Expressions: Internet 11. Translations: Modern 12. Translations: Ancient | 13. Derivations 14. Rhymes 15. Anagrams 16. Orthography | 17. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
