contumacious

English

WOTD – 16 January 2008

Etymology

From Latin contumāx (“stubborn, obstinate”) +‎ -ious.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌkɒn.tjʊˈmeɪ.ʃəs/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌkɑːn.tʊˈmeɪ.ʃəs/, /ˌkɑːn.tjəˈmeɪ.ʃəs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: con‧tu‧ma‧cious
• Rhymes: -eɪʃəs

Adjective

contumacious (comparative more contumacious, superlative most contumacious)

1. Contemptuous of authority; willfully disobedient; rebellious.
   • 1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes”, in Henry John Todd, editor, The Poetical Works of John Milton, volume 4, published 1801, page 505:

     […] and, on his conſtancie, ſounds an accuſation to Herod of a contumacious affront, on ſuch a day, before many peers; præpares the king to ſome paſſion, and at laſt, by her daughter’s dancing, effects it.

   • 1837, Thomas Carlyle, chapter IV, in The French Revolution: A History […], volume II (The Constitution), London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC, book V (Parliament First):

     In all places too are Dissident Priests; whom the Legislative will have to deal with: contumacious individuals, working on that angriest of passions; plotting, enlisting.

   • [1921 [1919], H. L. Mencken, chapter 39, in The American Language, 2nd edition, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 262:

     Its verbs are conjugated in a way that defies all the injunctions of the grammar books; it has its contumacious rules of tense, number and case; […]]

2. (law) Willfully disobedient to the summons or orders of a court.

Synonyms

• (contemptuous of authority): disobedient, insubordinate, obstinate, perverse, rebellious, stubborn

Related terms

• contumaciously
• contumaciousness
• contumacy
• contumely
• contumelious

Translations

contemptuous of authority

Bulgarian: упорит (bg) (uporit), непокорен (bg) (nepokoren) German: ungehorsam (de) Japanese: 官命抗拒の (kanmēkōkyono) Latin: contumax Norwegian: Bokmål: gjenstridig, hardnakket Polish: oporny (pl), nieposłuszny (pl), krnąbrny (pl) Russian: непослу́шный (ru) m (neposlúšnyj), несгово́рчивый (ru) m (nesgovórčivyj) Spanish: insubordinado (es) Swedish: gensträvig (sv) Turkish: itaatsiz (tr) Ukrainian: непокі́рний (nepokírnyj)

in law, willfully disobedient

French: contumace (fr) m or f Japanese: 服従しない (fukujūshinai) Latin: contumax Norwegian: Bokmål: ulydig (no) Polish: oporny (pl), nieposłuszny (pl), krnąbrny (pl) Spanish: contumaz (es) Swedish: tredskande