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contumacy

 - 3 dictionary results

con⋅tu⋅ma⋅cy

  [kon-too-muh-see, -tyoo-]
Use contumacy in a Sentence
–noun, plural -cies.
stubborn perverseness or rebelliousness; willful and obstinate resistance or disobedience to authority.
Origin:
1150–1200; ME contumacie < L contumācia, equiv. to contumāc-, s. of contumāx unyielding, stubborn (con- con- + -tum- of uncert. sense, though connected by classical authors with both contemnere to regard with contempt and tumēre to swell) + -āx adj. suffix) + -ia -ia
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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con·tu·ma·cy   (kŏn'tōō-mə-sē, -tyōō-)   
n.   pl. con·tu·ma·cies
Obstinate or contemptuous resistance to authority; stubborn rebelliousness.

[Middle English contumacie, from Latin contumācia, from contumāx, contumāc-, insolent.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: con·tu·ma·cy
Pronunciation: k&n-'tü-m&-sE, -'tyü-; 'kän-t&-m&-sE, -ty&-
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin contumacia, literally, defiance, obstinacy
: willful disobedience of a court order —con·tu·ma··cious /"kän-tü-'mA-sh&s, -tyü-/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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