labefaction
English
WOTD – 29 May 2009
Etymology
From Latin labefaciō (labo to totter + facio to make).
Pronunciation
- (US) IPA(key): /ˌlæb.əˈfæk.ʃən/
Noun
labefaction (uncountable)
- (rare) The act of shaking or weakening or the resulting state; overthrow, ruination.
- 1963, C. N. Stavrou, "Religion in Byron's Don Juan," Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, vol. 3, no. 4, p. 590,
- Man's labefaction did not occur in time past; nor does it wait upon time future.
- 1968, "The Casualty Loss Deduction and Consumer Expectation: Section 165(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code," The University of Chicago Law Review, vol. 36, no. 1, p. 224 (citing 54 F.2d 537 (2d Cir. 1931)),
- The court found "simply a steady labefaction from wind and weather more rapid than usual because of structural defects."
- 1963, C. N. Stavrou, "Religion in Byron's Don Juan," Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, vol. 3, no. 4, p. 590,
Related terms
- labefy
Translations
act of shaking orweakening or the resulting state; overthrow, ruination
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References
- labefaction in An American Dictionary of the English Language, by Noah Webster, 1828.
- labefaction in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- “labefaction” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.