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Origin and history of arson

arson(n.)

"malicious burning of property," 1670s, from Anglo-French arsoun (late 13c.), Old French arsion, from Late Latin arsionem (nominative arsio) "a burning," noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin ardere "to burn" (from PIE root *as- "to burn, glow"). The Old English term was bærnet, literally "burning;" and Coke (1640) has indictment of burning.

also from 1670s

Entries linking to arson

arsonist(n.)

"one who maliciously sets fires," 1864, from arson + -ist.

*as-

also *es-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to burn, glow." 

It might form all or part of: ardent; ardor; area; arid; aridity; aril; arson; ash (n.1) "powdery remains of fire;" azalea; potash; potassium.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit asah "ashes, dust;" Hittite hat- "to dry up;" Greek azein "to dry up, parch," azaleos "dry;" Latin aridus "parched, dry," ārēre "to be dry," āra "altar, hearth;" Armenian azazem "I dry up;" Old English æsce "ash," Old High German asca, Gothic azgo "ashes." 

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    Trends of arson

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

    More to explore

    combustion
    "action or process of burning," early 15c., from Old French combustion (13c.) and directly from Latin combustionem (nominative combustio) "a burning," noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin comburere "to burn up, consume," from com-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (s
    indictment
    formerly also endictment, c. 1300, endytement, "action of accusing," from Anglo-French and Old French enditement, from enditer "accuse, indict" (see indict). The meaning "formal legal document containing a charge proved before a grand jury" is from c. 1500. The Latin spelling was
    conspiracy
    mid-14c., "a plotting of evil, unlawful design; a combination of persons for an evil purpose," from Anglo-French conspiracie, Old French conspiracie "conspiracy, plot," from Latin conspirationem (nominative conspiratio) "agreement, union, unanimity," noun of action from past-part
    magazine
    1580s, "warehouse, place for storing goods, especially military ammunition," from French magasin "warehouse, depot, store" (15c.), from Italian magazzino, from Arabic makhazin, plural of makhzan "storehouse" (source of Spanish almacén "warehouse, magazine"), from khazana "to stor
    refugee
    1680s, "one who flees to a refuge or shelter or place of safety; one who in times of persecution or political disorder flees to a foreign country for safety," from French refugié, a noun use of the past participle of refugier "to take shelter, protect," from Old French refuge "hi
    Florida
    U.S. state, formerly a Spanish colony, probably from Spanish Pascua florida, literally "flowering Easter," a Spanish name for Palm Sunday, and so named because the peninsula was discovered on that day (March 20, 1513) by the expedition of Spanish explorer Ponce de León. From Lati
    satyr
    late 14c., satire, "one of a type of woodland deities part human or animal; demigod or spirit of the air or woods, companion of Bacchus," from Old French satire and directly from Latin satyrus, from Greek satyros, a word of unknown origin. "The etymology of [satyros] is unknown.
    clean
    Old English clæne "free from dirt or filth, unmixed with foreign or extraneous matter; morally pure, chaste, innocent; open, in the open," of beasts, "not forbidden by ceremonial law to eat," from West Germanic *klainja- "clear, pure" (source also of Old Saxon kleni "dainty, deli
    garden
    late 13c. (late 12c. in surnames), from Old North French gardin "(kitchen) garden; orchard; palace grounds" (Old French jardin, 13c., Modern French jardin), from Vulgar Latin *hortus gardinus "enclosed garden," via Frankish *gardo or some other Germanic source, from Proto-Germani
    graffiti
    1851, "ancient wall inscriptions found in the ruins of Pompeii," from Italian graffiti, plural of graffito "a scribbling," a diminutive formation from graffio "a scratch or scribble," from graffiare "to scribble," ultimately from Greek graphein "to scratch, draw, write" (see -gra

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