1. Violations of the loyalty owed by someone to his or her country; for example, by aiding an enemy of one's nation: The housekeeper of the hotel was accused of treason because she inadvertently provided shelter to the man who was accused of shooting people during a bank robbery.
2. Etymology: from Latin traditionem, nominative of traditio, "a handing over, a delivery, a surrender"; from tradere, "to hand over, to deliver, to give".