tortfeasor

English

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman tortfeasor, from Old French tortfesor, tort-faiseur, torfesor, torzfesor (“wrongdoer”), from tort (“a misdeed, a wrong”) + fesor, faiseur (“doer”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtɔːtˌfiːzə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtɔɹtˌfiːzɚ/
• Hyphenation: tort‧fea‧sor

Noun

tortfeasor (plural tortfeasors)

1. (law) A person who commits a tort.
   • 1881, Oliver Wendell Holmes, The Common Law‎^[1]:

     […] there is an exception “in the cases of heir and executor, who may plead a release to the ancestor or testator whom they respectively represent; so also with respect to several tortfeasors, for in all these cases there is a privity between the parties which constitutes an identity of person”.

   • 1992, Moot Court Casebook - Volume 16, pages 9-23:

     Damages paid by the settling tortfeasor which are greater than the pro rata amount can easily be attributed to his desire to avoid legal fees and bad press, or misspeculation about the merits and likely outcome of the case.

Derived terms

• cotortfeasor

Related terms

• tortfeasance

Translations

person who commits a tort

• Dutch: schadeverwekker m, laedens m
• German: Schädiger m, Täter (de) m
• Spanish: agraviador (es) m, agresor (es) m, injuriador (es) m
• Welsh: camweddwr m