• Question: What does forensic mean?

    Asked by 10ejman to Anna, Craig, Richard, Shane, Sue on 21 Jun 2011. This question was also asked by 10mldef.
    • Photo: Craig McKenzie

      Craig McKenzie answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      hi 10ejman

      Forensic originally comes from an old language called latin and means ‘of the forum’ which was a place of public discussion like the courts of today.

      Forensic these days though is often seen as the same as forensic science which is the application of science to questions which are of interest to the legal system (the court).

      I hope that helps.

      Craig

    • Photo: Anna Williams

      Anna Williams answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      Hi 10ejman,
      The word ‘forensic’ is an adjective which means relating to, or used in, or appropriate for, courts of law and criminal investigation. It relates to the use of science or technology in the investigation and establishment of facts or evidence in a court of law.
      There is another definition, which means ‘looking in great detail, methodical or precise’, so for example, you could say “he studied the flower in forensic detail”.

    • Photo: Richard Case

      Richard Case answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      2 great answers from Craig and Anna:) can’t add much more than that

    • Photo: Shane Pennington-Cooper

      Shane Pennington-Cooper answered on 20 Jun 2011:

      Hi 10ejman,

      The word forensic means pertaining to the courts, and can be a prefix (word before) to many different areas. It does not always mean forensic science.

      Other than this addition Craig and Anna’s answer is pretty much a text book answer.

    • Photo: Sue Carney

      Sue Carney answered on 21 Jun 2011:

      I agree with Richard and Shane — great answers already from Anna and Craig, so nothing to add to them really. Great question though 10ejman!

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