Definition of: felony

(fel′ə·nē) Law noun plural ·nies
1. In common law, an offense the punishment of which carried with it the forfeiture of lands or goods, or both.
2. One of the highest class of offenses, variously limited by common law or by statute, and punishable by imprisonment or death. Included are treason, murder, rape, robbery, arson, etc., and punishment is in a State prison.
In modern usage, and especially in American law, forfeiture of estate for crime being generally abolished, the word is used, as defined above, as distinct from misdemeanor, an offense of minor degree, punishable by fine or imprisonment in a county jail. Hence, felony is now a generic term that denotes a general class or grade of offenses, usually those of greater enormity.