DEFEASANCE

Etymology

Noun

defeasance (countable and uncountable, plural defeasances)

(now rare) Destruction, defeat, overthrow.

(US, legal) The rendering void of a contract or deed; an annulment or abrogation.

Verb

defeasance (third-person singular simple present defeasances, present participle defeasancing, simple past and past participle defeasanced)

(US, legal, transitive) To void; to annul.

Source: Wiktionary


De*fea"sance, n. Etym: [OF. defesance, fr. defesant, F. défaisant, p. pr. of defaire, F. défaire, to undo. See Defeat.]

1. A defeat; an overthrow. [Obs.] After his foes' defeasance. Spenser.

2. A rendering null or void.

3. (Law)

Definition: A condition, relating to a deed, which being performed, the deed is defeated or rendered void; or a collateral deed, made at the same time with a feoffment, or other conveyance, containing conditions, on the performance of which the estate then created may be defeated.

Note: Mortgages were usually made in this manner in former times, but the modern practice is to include the conveyance and the defeasance in the same deed.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Coffee Trivia

The word “coffee” entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch “koffie,” borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish “kahve,” borrowed in turn from the Arabic “qahwah.” The Arabic word qahwah was traditionally held to refer to a type of wine.

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