Extradition

How to spell extradition

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce extradition

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does extradition mean?

1. nounThe formal surrender of an accused or convicted person by one country or jurisdiction to another that has authority to try or punish them.

Extradition in a sentence

• The suspect is fighting his extradition to the country where the fraud took place.

• The two governments signed a treaty that allows the extradition of fugitives.

Where does extradition come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is a relatively young legal word, coined in France as extradition in the late eighteenth century and adopted into English in the early nineteenth century. It was built from the Latin prefix ex-, meaning 'out', joined to traditio, which literally meant 'a handing over' or 'a delivery', from the verb tradere 'to hand over' or 'to deliver'. So the word paints a vivid picture: a person is, quite literally, handed out of one country and delivered to another to face justice. That same Latin tradere root sits inside the everyday word 'tradition', since a tradition is something handed down from one generation to the next, and it also lurks in the darker 'traitor', someone who hands over what should be protected. Recognising that the middle of the word is simply 'tradition' is the easiest way to fix the spelling and remember the single d and the -ition ending.

How the word is built

• ex- (out)
• tradition (a handing over, from Latin tradere: to hand over)
• -ion (noun suffix)