coroner

an officer who investigates by inquest any death not clearly resulting from natural causes

Not to be confused with:

corner – the place where two converging lines or surfaces meet; an end; margin; edge

cor·o·ner

(kôr′ə-nər, kŏr′-)

A public officer whose primary function is to investigate any death thought to be of other than natural causes.

[Middle English, officer of the crown, from Anglo-Norman corouner, from coroune, crown, from Latin corōna; see crown.]

cor′o·ner·ship′ n.

Word History: Coroner comes from Anglo-Norman corouner, a word derived from coroune, "crown." Corouner was the term used for the royal judicial officer who was called in Latin custos placitorum coronae, or "guardian of the crown's pleas." The person holding the office of coroner, a position dating from the 12th century, was charged with keeping local records of legal proceedings in which the crown had jurisdiction. He helped raise money for the crown by funneling the property of executed criminals into the king's treasury. The coroner also investigated any suspicious deaths among the Normans, who as the ruling class wanted to be sure that their deaths were not taken lightly. At one time in England all criminal proceedings were included in the coroner's responsibilities. Over the years these responsibilities decreased markedly. In the United States, although there is no longer any crown, a coroner's main duty is the investigation of any sudden, violent, or unexpected death.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

coroner

(ˈkɒrənə)

(Law) a public official responsible for the investigation of violent, sudden, or suspicious deaths and inquiries into treasure trove. The investigation (coroner's inquest) is held in the presence of a jury (coroner's jury). See also procurator fiscal Compare medical examiner

[C14: from Anglo-French corouner officer in charge of the pleas of the Crown, from Old French corone crown]

ˈcoronerˌship n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

cor•o•ner

(ˈkɔr ə nər, ˈkɒr-)

n.

an officer, as of a county or municipality, whose chief function is to investigate by inquest, as before a jury, any death not clearly resulting from natural causes.

[1225–75; Middle English < Anglo-French corouner supervisor of the Crown's pleas =coroune crown + -er -er²]

cor′o•ner•ship`, n.

coroner

A public official who holds an inquest to investigate any sudden or suspicious death.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

coroner - a public official who investigates by inquest any death not due to natural causes

medical examiner

investigator - someone who investigates

Translations

ضابِط قَضائي

ohledávač mrtvol

embedslægeretsmediciner

Leichenbeschauer

juez de instrucción

coroner

halottkém

dánardómstjóri

magistrato inquirente

koroneris

kriminālmeklētājs

embetsmann som forestår rettslig likskue

ohliadač

adlî tıp görevlisi

验尸官

coroner

[ˈkɒrənəʳ] N → juez mf de instrucción

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

coroner

[ˈkɒrənə^r] n → coroner m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

coroner

[ˈkɒrənəʳ] n → coroner m inv (pubblico ufficiale che indaga casi di morte sospetta)

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

coroner

(ˈkorənə) noun

an official who inquires into the causes of accidental or sudden, unexpected deaths.

cor·o·ner

n. médico-a forense, investigador de causas de muerte no naturales.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

coroner

n forense mf, médico -ca mf forense, médico -ca mf legista (esp. Mex), oficial mf encargado de investigar casos de muerte

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

"Is it possible that she could have swallowed the poison by accident?" asked the Coroner.

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He is understood to be in want of witnesses for the inquest to-morrow who can tell the coroner and jury anything whatever respecting the deceased.

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The facts from which this conclusion is drawn, are derived partly from an examination of the room at the tavern; and partly from the evidence obtained at the Coroner's Inquest.

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Chichely, the coroner, a great coursing comrade of Mr.

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At the double inquest the coroner's jury found that Daniel Baker died by his own hand while suffering from temporary insanity, and that Samuel Morritz was murdered by some person or persons to the jury unknown.

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Those are the main facts of the case as they came out before the coroner and the police-court."

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The inquest was hurried for certain local reasons which weighed with the coroner and the town authorities.

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So will the coroner's inquest certainly find it; and then you will be easily admitted to bail; and, though you must undergo the form of a trial, yet it is a trial which many men would stand for you for a shilling." "Come, come, Mr Jones," says Mrs Miller, "chear yourself up.

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After the coroner's jury had viewed the body and its surroundings, Wilson suggested a search upstairs, and he went along.

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`The body can't be touched until we get the coroner here from Black Hawk, and that will be a matter of several days, this weather.'

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"I should not think of making a corrupt proposal to you, sir; but if I were Commissioner of Shrimps and Crabs, I might have some influence with the water-front population, and be able to help you make your fight for Coroner."

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My motive for withholding it from the coroner's inquiry is that a man of science shrinks from placing himself in the public position of seeming to indorse a popular superstition.

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