Tort

tort n. French for wrong, a civil wrong, or wrongful act, whether intentional or accidental, from which injury occurs to another. Torts include all negligence cases as well as intentional wrongs which result in harm. Therefore tort law is one of the major areas of law (along with contract, real property and criminal law), and results in more civil litigation than any other category. Some intentional torts may also be crimes such as assault, battery, wrongful death, fraud, conversion (a euphemism for theft), and trespass on property and form the basis for a lawsuit for damages by the injured party. Defamation, including intentionally telling harmful untruths about another, either by print or broadcast (libel) or orally (slander), is a tort and used to be a crime as well. (See: negligence, damages, assault, battery, fraud, wrongful death, conversion, trespass, defamation, libel, slander)

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TORT. An injury; a wrong; (q.v.) hence the expression an executor de son tort, of his own wrong. Co. Lit. 158.
     2. Torts may be committed with force, as trespasses, which may be an injury to the person, such as assault, battery, imprisonment; to the property in possession; or they may be committed without force. Torts of this nature are to the absolute or relative rights of persons, or to personal property in possession or reversion, or to real property, corporeal or encorporeal, in possession or reversion: these injuries may be either by nonfeasance, malfeasance, or misfeasance. 1 Chit. Pl. 133-4. Vide 1 Fonb. Eq. 4; Bouv. Inst. Index, h.t.; and the article Injury.