In flagrante delicto (), is used to refer to citizen's arrest, and is listed under Section 213 of the Code of Criminal Procedure as such. Aside from the legal meaning, the Latin term is often used colloquially as a dysphemism for someone's being caught in the midst of sexual activity. In flagrante delicto In flagrante delicto (Latin: "in blazing offence"), or simply in flagrante, a legal term, indicates that a criminal has been caught in the act of committing an offence (compare ). The colloquial "caught " or "caught rapid" are English equivalents. The phrase combines the present active participle "flagrāns" (flaming or
Crime The meaning "offense punishable by law" dates from the late 14th century. The Latin word is glossed in Old English by "facen", also "deceit, fraud, treachery", [cf. fake]. "Crime wave" is first attested in 1893 in American English. Whether a given act or omission constitutes a crime does not depend on the nature of that act or omission. It depends on the nature of the legal consequences that may follow it. An act or omission is a crime if it is capable of being followed by what are called criminal proceedings. History The following definition of "crime" was provided by