In*dem"ni*ty (?), n.; pl.
Indemnities (#). [L. indemnitas, fr.
indemnis uninjured: cf. F. indemnité. See
Indemnify.]
1. Security; insurance; exemption from loss
or damage, past or to come; immunity from penalty, or the punishment
of past offenses; amnesty.
Having first obtained a promise of indemnity
for the riot they had committed.
Sir W.
Scott.
2. Indemnification, compensation, or
remuneration for loss, damage, or injury sustained.
They were told to expect, upon the fall of Walpole, a
large and lucrative indemnity for their pretended
wrongs.
Ld. Mahon.
☞ Insurance is a contract of indemnity.
Arnould. The owner of private property taken for public use is
entitled to compensation or indemnity. Kent.
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.