Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A rendering void; an annulment.
- n. The voiding of a contract or deed.
- n. A clause within a contract or deed providing for annulment.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. An undoing; ruin; defeat; overthrow.
- n. A rendering null and void.
- n. In law, a condition relating to a deed or other instrument, on performance of which the instrument is to be defeated or rendered void; or a collateral deed (in full, a deed of defeasance), made at the same time with a conveyance, containing conditions on the performance of which the estate created may be defeated.
Wiktionary
- n. Destruction, defeat, overthrow.
- n. US, law The rendering void of a contract or deed; an annulment.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. obsolete A defeat; an overthrow.
- n. A rendering null or void.
- n. (Law) A condition, relating to a deed, which being performed, the deed is defeated or rendered void; or a collateral deed, made at the same time with a feoffment, or other conveyance, containing conditions, on the performance of which the estate then created may be defeated.
Etymologies
- Middle English defesaunce, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French defesance, from defesant, present participle of desfaire, to destroy; see defeat. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Yesterday's term was defeasance, which is defined as:”
“The Bush administration argues that the transit systems never get their hands on any funds because of defeasance.”
“In a municipal defeasance program, a state or local government issues new debt to refund older debt with higher interest costs.”
Simon & Schuster: Essential Guide to Business Style and Usage
“Spenser his law-terms: his _capias, defeasance_, and _duresse_; his”
“It is probable that the great English scholar, Alcuin, who has been called the Erasmus of the eighth century, had already suggested to the great king that the weakness of the Eastern emperors was a real defeasance of power and that the crown imperial might be his own.”
“Albert de Wichehalse (who received that name before it became so inevitable) was that same worthy boy grown up as to whom the baron had felt compunctions, highly honourable to either party, touching his defeasance; or rather, perhaps, as to interception of his presumptive heirship by the said Albert, or at least by his mother contemplated.”
“At least, let me make him give you a deed of defeasance.”
“Such is the glowing and overwhelming character and defeasance of my client, who stands convicted before this court of oyer and terminer, and lex non scripta, by the persecuting pettifogger of this court, who is as much exterior to me as I am interior to the judge, and you, gentlemen of the jury.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘defeasance’.
-
Law School Terminology
Words that I'm learning in law school
pro tanto, obiter dictum, ratio decidendi, ex facie, ab initio, per saltum, assumpsit, escheat, mandamus, seisin, easement, estoppel and 40 more...
-
worddom
put words in their place
theca, wisdom, kingdom, freedom, boredom, seldom, martyrdom, abdomen, doom, samhita, duma, dumka and 151 more...
-
rememberers
prolix, ageusia, animadversion, anodyne, antic, arabesque, beadle, brachymetropia, colophon, desquamation, diaphoresis, diegesis and 3255 more...
-
MRED words
Words used in real estate development, a glossary for the accelerated master's of real estate development program at ASU.
amortization, adverse selection, capitalization, capitalization rate, accretion, acre, ad valorem, appraisal, asset, real property, real estate, valuation and 18 more...
-
perhapsolutely's Words
polyradiculoneuro..., abulia, abubble, abscission, abaft, zareba, abatis, abigail, abiogenesis, ablate, ablaut, abo and 1705 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for defeasance.
Comments
No comments yet...
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.