Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A ceding or surrendering, as of territory to another country by treaty.
  • noun Something, such as territory, that is ceded.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of yielding or giving way; concession.
  • noun A yielding to physical force or impulse.
  • noun The act of ceding, yielding, or surrendering, as territory, property, or rights; a giving up, resignation, or surrender.
  • noun In civil law, a voluntary surrender of a person's effects to his creditors to avoid imprisonment. See cessio bonorum.
  • noun Eccles., the leaving of one benefice in consequence of accepting another, the incumbent not having a dispensation entitling him to hold both.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun obsolete A yielding to physical force.
  • noun obsolete Concession; compliance.
  • noun A yielding, or surrender, as of property or rights, to another person; the act of ceding.
  • noun (Eccl. Law) The giving up or vacating a benefice by accepting another without a proper dispensation.
  • noun (Civil Law) The voluntary surrender of a person's effects to his creditors to avoid imprisonment.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun That which is ceded. Insurance: (part of) a risk which is transferred from one actor to another.
  • noun The giving up of rights, property etc. which one is entitled to.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the act of ceding

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin cessiō, cessiōn-, from cessus, past participle of cēdere, to yield; see ked- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle French cession, from Latin cessionem, from past participle of cēdere ("to yield").

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Examples

  • Of this her Government has been repeatedly apprised, and the cession was the more to have been anticipated as Spain must have known that in ceding it she would likewise relieve herself from the important obligation secured by the treaty of 1795 and all other compromitments respecting it.

    State of the Union Address (1790-2001) United States. Presidents.

  • The Indians at Detroit who made the cession were the Ojibways, Hurons, Ottawas and

    The Country of the Neutrals (As Far As Comprised in the County of Elgin), From Champlain to Talbot James H. Coyne

  • More reserved, more dignified, in the reserve of developed womanhood, her cession was the more gracious and wonderful.

    The Silver Horde Rex Ellingwood Beach 1913

  • The history of the early years following the cession is a sad record of violence and general lawlessness among the white inhabitants, and of deplorable Indian troubles.

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 1: Aachen-Assize 1840-1916 1913

  • Of this her Government has been repeatedly apprised, and the cession was the more to have been anticipated as Spain must have known that in ceding it she would likewise relieve herself from the important obligation secured by the treaty of 1795 and all other compromitments respecting it.

    State of the Union Address James Monroe 1794

  • Thus we are again brought round to our vital issue, that of the amount and kind of cession of sovereignty required for an effective

    The Unity of Civilization Various

  • Although this act of "cession" was clearly unlawful, any objections were summarily ignored, overruled or dispatched by the bully power of the U.S.

    WHAT REALLY HAPPENED 2008

  • The U.S. government would then ‘reluctantly’ pressure the Indian tribes into another cession of land.

    Matthew Yglesias » Parallel 2009

  • Nor did Wilson propose a wholesale cession of American sovereignty to the new body.

    What Would Wilson Do? 2010

  • They could not depend on the English after the latter interpreted the Treaty of Lancaster in 1744 as an Iroquois cession of the Ohio Country.

    George Washington’s First War David A. Clary 2011

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