pardon

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
pardon/ˈpɑːdn/

▶noun

• 1 the action of forgiving or being forgiven for an error or offence.

• 2 a remission of the legal consequences of an offence or conviction.

• 3 Christian Church, historical an indulgence.

▶verb

• 1 forgive or excuse (a person, error, or offence).

• 2 release (an offender) from the legal consequences of an offence or conviction.

▶exclamation used to ask a speaker to repeat something because one did not hear or understand it.

– phrases
I beg your pardon (or pardon me) used to express polite apology or to indicate that one has not heard or understood something.

– derivatives
pardonable adjective,
pardonably adverb.

– origin ME: from OFr. pardun (n.), pardoner (v.), from med. L. perdonare ‘concede, remit’, from per- ‘completely’ + donare ‘give’.