CONTUMACY

contumacy

(noun) obstinate rebelliousness and insubordination; resistance to authority

contumacy

(noun) willful refusal to appear before a court or comply with a court order; can result in a finding of contempt of court

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

contumacy (countable and uncountable, plural contumacies)

(chiefly Christianity and law) Disobedience, resistance to authority.

Source: Wiktionary


Con"tu*ma*cy, n.; pl. Contumacies. Etym: [L. contumacia, fr. contumax, -acis, insolent; prob. akin to contemnere to despise: cf. F. contumace. Cf. Contemn.]

1. Stubborn perverseness; pertinacious resistance to authority. The bishop commanded him . . . to be thrust into the stocks for his manifest and manifold contumacy. Strype.

2. (Law)

Definition: A willful contempt of, and disobedience to, any lawful summons, or to the rules and orders of court, as a refusal to appear in court when legally summoned.

Syn.

– Stubbornness; perverseness; obstinacy.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

27 June 2025

SQUARE

(adjective) having four equal sides and four right angles or forming a right angle; “a square peg in a round hole”; “a square corner”


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Coffee Trivia

According to WorldAtlas, Canada is the only non-European country to make its top ten list of coffee consumers. The United States at a distant 25 on the list.

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