traitor 的詞源

14世紀晚期，tradicioun，「世代相傳的陳述、信仰或實踐」，特別是在神學中，「基於摩西律法的信仰或實踐」，後來也指基督教實踐，來自古法語tradicion「傳遞、呈現、交付」（13世紀晚期）以及直接來自拉丁語traditionem（主格traditio）「交出、投降、傳遞、放棄」（也有「教學、指導」和「從前時代傳下來的說法」的意思）。

這是一個名詞，來自過去分詞詞幹tradere「交付，交給」，來自trans-「越過」（參見trans-）+ dare「給予」（來自原始印歐語根*do-「給予」）。Tradition因此是treason（參見）的一個雙生詞。

「長久以來建立的習俗」的意義來自1590年代。這個詞的概念是習俗、方式、信仰、教義等「從祖先傳給後代」的東西。

1718年用於指伊斯蘭教的hadiths和被認為已啟示但未寫下的教義。在美術和文學中，「前幾代人積累的經驗和成就。」

What I mean by tradition involves all those habitual actions, habits and customs, from the most significant religious rite to our conventional way of greeting a stranger, which represent the blood kinship of 'the same people living in the same place'. ... We become conscious of these items, or conscious of their importance, usually only after they have begun to fall into desuetude, as we are aware of the leaves of a tree when the autumn wind begins to blow them off—when they have separately ceased to be vital. Energy may be wasted at that point in a frantic endeavour to collect the leaves as they fall and gum them onto the branches: but the sound tree will put forth new leaves, and the dry tree should be put to the axe. [T.S. Eliot, "After Strange Gods"]

我所說的傳統涉及所有那些習慣性的行為、習慣和習俗，從最重要的宗教儀式到我們對陌生人的傳統問候，這些都代表了「同一民族生活在同一地方」的血緣關係。……我們通常只有在這些項目開始衰退時，才會意識到它們，或意識到它們的重要性，就像當秋風開始吹落樹葉時我們意識到樹葉——當它們分別不再重要時。在那個時候，可能會在瘋狂地努力收集掉落的葉子並將它們粘在樹枝上浪費精力：但健壯的樹會長出新葉，而枯樹應該被砍伐。[T.S. Eliot, "After Strange Gods"]

到1450年代，tradition和treason的意義仍然重疊，當時tradition可以意味「背叛」，而中世英語traditour是「背叛者，叛徒」。在早期教會歷史中，Traditores是（拉丁語）指在迫害期間將聖經或聖物交給當局或背叛弟兄的人的詞。

約公元1200年，treisoun，treson，「背叛；信任的背叛；不忠，信仰的違背」，來自盎格魯法語treson，源自古法語traison「叛國罪，背叛」（11世紀；現代法語trahison），來自拉丁語traditionem（主格traditio）「交付，投降，傳遞，放棄」（西班牙語traicion的來源），名詞形式來自過去分詞詞幹tradere「交付，交出」，來自trans「超過」（參見trans-）+ dare「給予」（來自原始印歐語根*do-「給予」）。是tradition的雙生詞。古法語形式受動詞trair「背叛」的影響。

Vpon Thursday it was treason to cry God saue king James king of England, and vppon Friday hye treason not to cry so. [Thomas Dekker, "The Wonderfull Yeare 1603"]

在古英國法律中，high treason（約公元1400年）是指臣民違反對王冠或國家的最高權力的效忠（其中high的意義是「嚴重，嚴峻」）；與petit treason區分，後者是指對臣民的叛國罪，例如僕人謀殺主人，還有偽造等。Constructive treason是一種司法虛構，通過該虛構，未懷有叛國意圖但被認為具有叛國效果的行為，將被懲罰為真正的叛國罪。這解釋了美國憲法中對叛國罪定義的謹慎措辭。

Lord George Gordon was thrown into the Tower and was tried before Lord Mansfield on the charge of high treason for levying war upon the Crown. The charge ... rested upon the assertion that the agitation which he had created and led was the originating cause of the outrages that had taken place. As there was no evidence that Lord George Gordon had anticipated these outrages, as he had taken no part in them, and had even offered his services to the Government to assist in their suppression, the accusation was one which, if it had been maintained, would have had consequences very dangerous to public liberty. [W.E.H. Lecky, on the Gordon Riots (1780), in "History of England in the Eighteenth Century"] 

中英語中也有作動詞，treisounen（14世紀中期）「背叛，交給敵人」。