contumacy
Sign in to saveContumacy is a stubborn refusal to obey authority or, particularly in law, the willful contempt of the order or summons of a court (see contempt of court). Etymologists derive the term from the Latin word , meaning "firmness" or "stubbornness".
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Contumacy is a stubborn refusal to obey authority or, particularly in law, the willful contempt of the order or summons of a court (see contempt of court). Etymologists derive the term from the Latin word , meaning "firmness" or "stubbornness".
In English ecclesiastical law, contumacy was contempt of the authority of an ecclesiastical court and was dealt with by the issue of a writ from the Court of Chancery at the instance of the judge of the ecclesiastical court. This writ took the place of the in 1813, by an act of George III (see excommunication).