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Webster 1913 Edition


Labefaction

Labˊe-fac′tion

,
Noun.
[See
Labefy
.]
The act of labefying or making weak; the state of being weakened; decay; ruin.
There is in it such a
labefaction
of all principles as may be injurious to morality.
Johnson.

Webster 1828 Edition


Labefaction

LABEFAC'TION

,
Noun.
[L. labefactio, from labefacio, labo, to totter, and facio, to make.]
A weakening or loosening; a failing; decay; downfall; ruin.

Definition 2024


labefaction

labefaction

English

Noun

labefaction (uncountable)

  1. (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."

Related terms

Translations

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, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.
  • Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.