indemnity

n.; pl. Indemnities [ L. indemnitas, fr. indemnis uninjured: cf. F. indemnité. See Indemnify. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Security; insurance; exemption from loss or damage, past or to come; immunity from penalty, or the punishment of past offenses; amnesty. [ 1913 Webster ]

Having first obtained a promise of indemnity for the riot they had committed. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Indemnification, compensation, or remuneration for loss, damage, or injury sustained. [ 1913 Webster ]

They were told to expect, upon the fall of Walpole, a large and lucrative indemnity for their pretended wrongs. Ld. Mahon. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Insurance is a contract of indemnity. Arnould. The owner of private property taken for public use is entitled to compensation or indemnity. Kent. [ 1913 Webster ]

Act of indemnity (Law), an act or law passed in order to relieve persons, especially in an official station, from some penalty to which they are liable in consequence of acting illegally, or, in case of ministers, in consequence of exceeding the limits of their strict constitutional powers. These acts also sometimes provide compensation for losses or damage, either incurred in the service of the government, or resulting from some public measure. [ 1913 Webster ]