Definition of forensic
1 : belonging to, used in, or suitable to courts of judicature or to public discussion and debate a lawyer's forensic skills
2 : argumentative, rhetorical forensic eloquence
3 : relating to or dealing with the application of scientific knowledge to legal problems forensic medicine forensic science forensic pathologist forensic experts
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The noun forensic, meaning “an argumentative exercise” derives from the adjective forensic, whose earliest meaning in English is “belonging to, used in, or suitable to courts or to public discussion and debate.” The English word was derived from a Latin word forensic meaning “of the market place or form, public,” which in turn comes from the Latin word forum, meaning “market place, forum.”
Origin and Etymology of forensic
Latin forensis public, forensic, from forum forum
Other Legal Terms
forensic
Definition of forensic
1 : an argumentative exercise
2 forensics plural in form but singular or plural in construction : the art or study of argumentative discourse
3 forensics plural in form but singular or plural in construction : the application of scientific knowledge to legal problems; especially : scientific analysis of physical evidence (as from a crime scene)
Origin and Etymology of forensic
see 1forensic
FORENSIC Defined for English Language Learners
forensic
playDefinition of forensic for English Language Learners
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: relating to the use of scientific knowledge or methods in solving crimes
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: relating to, used in, or suitable to a court of law
Medical Dictionary
Medical Definition of forensic
: relating to or dealing with the application of scientific knowledge to legal problems especially in regard to criminal evidence a forensic pathologist forensic experts … a forensic technique of DNA analysis allows for the determination of whether a subject with a specific genetic profile has contributed to aggregate genomic data.—Kathy L. Hudson, The New England Journal of Medicine, 15 Sept. 2011
Law Dictionary
forensic
playLegal Definition of forensic
1 : belonging to, used in, or suitable to the courts or to public discussion and debate
2 : relating to or dealing with the application of scientific knowledge (as of medicine or linguistics) to legal problems forensic pathology forensic experts
forensically
adverbOrigin and Etymology of forensic
Latin forensis public, forensic, from forum forum
Learn More about forensic
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Spanish Central: Translation of forensic Nglish: Translation of forensic for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of forensic for Arabic speakers
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