Contumacy
/ˈkɒn.tjʊ.mə.si/noun
Stubborn disobedience or willful refusal to submit to authority.
Did you know?Contumacy entered English through legal and ecclesiastical language, where it named a person’s stubborn refusal to obey a court or church authority.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
contumāx
“stubborn, insolent, headstrong”
Late Latin
Latin
contumācia
“stubbornness, insolence, disobedience”
Old French
Old French
contumace
“stubborn refusal to obey a summons or authority”
14th Century
English
contumacie
“wilful disobedience, especially to a court or church”
Modern English
English
contumacy
“stubborn refusal to obey authority or submit to lawful authority”
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