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desuetude - 5 dictionary results

des⋅ue⋅tude

  [des-wi-tood, -tyood]
Use desuetude in a Sentence
–noun
the state of being no longer used or practiced.
Origin:
1425–75; late ME < L dēsuētūdo, equiv. to dēsuē-, base of dēsuēscere to become disaccustomed to, unlearn (dē- de- + suēscere to become accustomed to) + -tūdō -tude
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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des·ue·tude   (děs'wĭ-tōōd', -tyōōd')   
n.  A state of disuse or inactivity.

[French désuétude, from Latin dēsuētūdō, from dēsuētus, past participle of dēsuēscere, to put out of use : dē-, de- + suēscere, to become accustomed; see s(w)e- in Indo-European roots.]
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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Desuetude

Des"ue*tude\, n. [L. desuetudo, from desuescere, to grow out of use, disuse; de + suescere to become used or accustomed: cf. F. d['e]su['e]tude. See Custom.] The cessation of use; disuse; discontinuance of practice, custom, or fashion.

The desuetude abrogated the law, which, before, custom had established. --Jer. Taylor.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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desuetude 
1623, from M.Fr. desuetude, from L. desuetudo (gen. desuetudinis) "disuse," from desuetus, pp. of desuescere "become unaccustomed to," from de- "away, from" + suescere "become used to" (see mansuetude).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: de·sue·tude
Pronunciation: 'de-swi-"tüd, -"tyüd; di-'sü-&-"tüd
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin desuetudo disuse, from desuescere to lose the habit of
: a doctrine holding that a statute may be abrogated because of its long disuse
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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