'Crime' originally meant 'judgment,' not 'offence' — from Latin 'cernere' (to sift), kin to 'crisis.'
An action or omission that constitutes an offence punishable by law; an illegal act.
From Old French 'crime,' from Latin 'crīmen' (charge, accusation, fault, offence), from the verb 'cernere' (to sift, to separate, to decide), from PIE *krey- (to sieve, to separate, to distinguish). A crime was originally a 'judgment' or 'decision' — the verdict itself, not the act. The meaning shifted from the legal decision to the act
'Crime,' 'crisis,' 'critic,' 'certain,' 'discern,' 'secret,' and 'discriminate' all descend from PIE *krey- (to sieve, to separate). A crime was a judgment. A crisis is a decisive moment. A critic separates good from bad. Something certain has been decided. To discern is to sift apart. A secret