extradition
UK[ˌek.strəˈdɪʃ.ən]US[ˌek.strəˈdɪʃ.ən]
n
The official process of sending someone who is accused or found guilty of a crime to another country where they are wanted, so that they can be put on trial or punished there.
Morpheme Breakdown
ex
tradition
ex
out
tradition
handing over
Etymology
The word 'extradition' is a modern legal term formed from Latin components. It literally means "a handing over outwards." The core concept comes from the Latin verb tradere, meaning "to hand over," which itself is a compound of trans- (across) and dare (to give). In the 18th century, English borrowed the French term extradition, which was a scholarly creation combining the Latin prefix ex- (out) with the stem tradition (handing over). The logic is straightforward: one state hands a person out of its jurisdiction and over to the authorities of another requesting state. This process evolved from ancient practices of surrendering fugitives and political prisoners into a formal, treaty-based component of international law.
Analysis
Structure: ex (out) + tradition (handing over)
- ex: A Latin prefix meaning "out of, from, beyond." In this word, it signifies the direction of the action.
- tradition: From the Latin root tradition- (stem of traditio), meaning "a handing over, delivery." It is derived from tradere (to hand over).
Examples
The court approved the suspect's extradition to face charges in the United States.
The two countries have a long-standing extradition treaty.
His lawyers fought the extradition request for years on human rights grounds.