Word of the Day

: October 7, 2024

lèse-majesté

noun layz-MAJ-uh-stee

What It Means

Lèse-majesté (less commonly spelled lese majesty) can refer to a true crime or offense, or to something likened to a crime or offense. Most often, it’s the latter, with lèse-majesté referring—seriously or playfully—to an act of disrespect that diminishes the dignity or importance of someone or something. In the former use, lèse-majesté refers to a crime (such as treason) that is committed against a sovereign power, or to an offense that violates the dignity of a ruler as the representative of a sovereign power.

// Their less-than-formal attire at the wedding was regarded in jest as lèse-majesté.

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lèse-majesté in Context

"The graphic novelist Posy Simmonds has won the Grand Prix at France's Angoulême International Comics festival—the first time a British artist and author has been awarded the world's most prestigious prize for lifetime achievement in comics. … "I wanted to take the story of Madame Bovary but update it and it would be my story," she said. "When it was published in French, I was rather frightened. I was worried it would be seen as lèse-majesté that I had appropriated this great French classic. But they really liked the book, which was wonderful." — Angelique Chrisafis, The Guardian (London, England), 24 Jan. 2024

Did You Know?

Lèse-majesté (or lese majesty, as it is also styled in English publications) came into English by way of Middle French, from the Latin laesa majestas, which literally means "injured majesty." The English term can conceivably cover any offense against a sovereign power or its ruler, from treason to a simple breach of etiquette, but lèse-majesté has also acquired a more lighthearted or ironic meaning, referring to something that insults or shows disrespect, especially to a particularly pompous or self-important person or organization. As such, it may be applied to a relatively inoffensive act that has been exaggeratedly treated as if it were a great affront.