Hypertext Webster Gateway: "contumacy"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Contumacy \Con"tu*ma*cy\, n.; pl. {Contumacies}. [L. contumacia,
fr. contumax, -acis, insolent; prob. akin to contemnere to
despise: cf. F. contumace. Cf. {Contemn}.]
1. Stubborn perverseness; pertinacious resistance to
authority.
The bishop commanded him . . . to be thrust into the
stocks for his manifest and manifold contumacy.
--Strype.
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.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
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
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