caput gerat lupinum (kap-[schwa]t jeer-[schwa]t loo-pI-n[schwa]m). [Latin “let him bear the head of a wolf”] Hist. An outlawed felon considered a pariah — a lone wolf — open to attack by anyone. See OUT-LAWRY. “He who breaks the law has gone to war with the community; the community goes to war with him. It is […]
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heat of passion. Rage, terror, or furious hatred suddenly aroused by some immediate provocation, usu. another person’s words or actions. • At common law, the heat of passion could serve as a mitigating circumstance that would reduce a murder charge to manslaughter. — Also termed sudden heat of passion; sudden heat; sudden passion; hot blood;
vendetta (ven-det-[schwa]), n. A private blood feud in which family members seek revenge on a person outside the family (often members of another family); esp., a private war in which the nearest of kin seek revenge for the slaying of a relative.