contumacy

3 definitions found

contumacy - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Contumacy \Con"tu*ma*cy\ (k[o^]n"t[-u]*m[.a]*s[y^]), n.; pl.
     Contumacies (k[o^]n"t[-u]*m[.a]*s[i^]z). [L. contumacia,
     fr. contumax, -acis, insolent; prob. akin to contemnere to
     despise: cf. F. contumace. Cf. Contemn.]
     1. Stubborn perverseness; pertinacious resistance to
        authority.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The bishop commanded him . . . to be thrust into the
              stocks for his manifest and manifold contumacy.
                                                    --Strype.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Law) 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.
          [1913 Webster]

contumacy - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  contumacy
      n 1: willful refusal to appear before a court or comply with a
           court order; can result in a finding of contempt of court
      2: obstinate rebelliousness and insubordination; resistance to
         authority

contumacy - Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) :

  CONTUMACY, civil law. The refusal or neglect of a party accused to appear 
  and answer to a charge preferred against him in a court of justice. This 
  word is derived from the Latin contumacia, disobedience. 1 Bro. Civ. Law, 
  455; Ayl. Parer. 196; Dig. 50, 17, 52; Code Nap. art. 22. 
       2. Contumacy is of two kinds, actual and presumed: actual contumacy is 
  when the party before the court refuses to obey some order of the court; 
  presumed contumacy is the act of refusing or declining to appear upon being 
  cited. 3 Curt. Ecc. R. 1.