Meanings
plural telishments
- uncountableusuallyThe act or institution of punishing the innocent for the sake of providing deterrence.
And I would say the same about punishments — not telishments, but punishments — in which the penalty is far too severe.
1961, John Hospers, Human Conduct: An Introduction to the Problems of Ethics, page 4571 more example
Try to imagine, then, an institution (which we may call “telishment”) which is such that the officials set up by it have authority to arrange a trial for the condemnation of an innocent man whenever they are of the opinion that doing so would be in the best interests of society.
1955, John Rawls, “Two Concepts of Rules”, in The Philosophical Review, LXIV, № 1, page 11
Origin
- Ancient Greekτέλος“result; end; loosely, the greater good”
- Englishtelishment
Coined by John Rawls in his 1955 paper “Two Concepts of Rules”. Probably a portmanteau of the Ancient Greek τέλος (télos, “result; end; loosely, the greater good”) and the English (pun)ishment. Compare telish.
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
telishment. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/telishment
“telishment.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/telishment. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “telishment,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/telishment.
Source: telishment on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.