Etymology

actus reus

Today it means: The act or acts constituting a criminal offense, as distinguished from the intentions or state of mind of the perpetrator (mens rea). Full definition →

First used 20th c.Late Latin āctus reus ← Latin āctus
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromāctus“act”
  2. Late Latin · borrowed fromāctus reus“guilty act”
  3. English todayactus reus

From Late Latin āctus reus (“guilty act”), from Latin āctus (“act”) + reus (“guilty”); after Late Latin and English mens rea.

Words from the same roots

Latināctus all →

actualactuateactus

First known use, by meaning

  • from 20th c. The act or acts constituting a criminal offense, as distinguished from the intentions or state of mind of the perpetrator (mens rea).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.