Prémédité

Prémédité is a French adjective meaning planned or thought out in advance. It describes actions carried out after prior reflection rather than on impulse, and is commonly used to indicate a degree of deliberate intent. The term is frequent in criminology and law, where it signals that the actor anticipated the consequences of the action before acting.

Étymologie: The word derives from the prefix pré- meaning before, combined with méditer, to meditate or reflect. The form prémédité is the past participle of the verb préméditer, which itself comes from Latin meditat- and meditatio, related to contemplating before acting.

Usage and nuance: In everyday language, un acte prémédité implies substantial planning. In legal contexts, préméditation denotes preplanning before an act and can influence the qualificaton and severity of crimes. In many jurisdictions, crimes committed with préméditation are treated more severely; for example, the French legal system uses the notion of meurtre avec préméditation (often associated with assassinat) to describe homicide carried out with prior planning. Across different systems, the presence of préméditation may affect verdicts, penalties, and sentencing guidelines. The term can also appear in discussions about political, corporate, or personal actions described as préméditées when they are understood to have been designed in advance.

See also: préméditation, préméditer, délibération. In translation, the corresponding English terms include premiditated or premeditation, used to convey similar ideas of prior planning and intent.