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felony

noun, plural fel·o·nies. Law.

an offense, as murder or burglary, of graver character than those called misdemeanors, especially those commonly punished in the U.S. by imprisonment for more than a year.
Early English Law. any crime punishable by death or mutilation and forfeiture of lands and goods.

noun plural -nies

(formerly) a serious crime, such as murder or arson. All distinctions between felony and misdemeanour were abolished in England and Wales in 1967

late 13c. as a term in common law, in Anglo-French, from Old French felonie (12c.) “wickedness, evil, treachery, perfidy, crime, cruelty, sin,” from Gallo-Romance *fellonia, from fellonem (see felon).

A grave crime, such as murder, rape, or burglary, that is punishable by death (see capital offense) or imprisonment in a state or federal facility.