Related forms
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
:10
:09
:08
:07
:06
:05
:04
:03
:02
:01
| opposition to the withdrawal of state support or recognition from an established church, esp. the Anglican Church in 19th-century England. |
| an obscure term ostensibly referring to a lung disease caused by silica dust, sometimes cited as one of the longest words in the English language. |
- Cuomo's capitulation is actually a further defeat for taxpayers and the riding public.
- In that case, the clock ticking to war will have to be stopped to see whether the capitulation is genuine.
- To some, signs of capitulation can be read as an indicator that the bottom may be near.
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
capitulation
Cite This Source
capitulation
in the history of international law, any treaty whereby one state permitted another to exercise extraterritorial jurisdiction over its own nationals within the former state's boundaries. The term is to be distinguished from the military term "capitulation," an agreement for surrender. There was no element of surrender in the early capitulations made by European rulers with the powerful Turkish sultans who were motivated by a desire to avoid the burden of administering justice to foreign merchants. Later capitulations, which in the case of China and other Asian states resulted from military pressure by European states, came to be regarded as (and, in effect, were) humiliating derogations from the sovereignty and equality of these states.
Learn more about capitulation with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Cite This Source