See Also: lynch(dictionary)
lynch mob(dictionary)
lynch(dictionary)
LYNCH-LAW(law)
Merrill Lynch(finance)
Lynch, David(encyclopedia)
Lynch, David(dictionary)
Merrill Lynch Bank USA(finance)
Merrill Lynch Bank and Trust Company(finance)

lynch (iou)



lynch noun1 & verb. Orig. US. E19.
[from Capt. William Lynch (1742-1820), head of a self-constituted judicial tribunal first organized in 1780 in Virginia, US.]
A. noun. lynch law, (in early use also) Lynch's law, the practice of summary punishment and esp. execution of an alleged offender carried out by a self-constituted illegal court. E19.
b. verb trans. Of a mob or group of people: condemn and put (a person) to death (esp. by hanging) for an alleged offence without a legal trial. M19.
D. Francis If you don't win they will likely lynch you. J. Wain The white American was ready first to enslave and later to lynch.
Comb.: lynch mob: intent on lynching someone.
lyncher noun M19.
lynching noun the action of the verb; an execution, esp. a hanging, without a legal trial: M19.