See Also: contumacy(dictionary)
CONTUMACY, civil law(law)

contumacy (iou)



contumacy noun. ME.
[Latin contumacia, from contumax, -ac-, perh. formed as CON- + tumere swell: see -Y3.]
Obstinate disobedience to authority; stubborn perverseness; spec. (chiefly Hist.) wilful disobedience to the summons or order of a court. ME.
b. An act of disobedience. E18.
Resistance of a disease to treatment. M16-M17.
Also contu'macity noun (rare) LME.