cease and desist

English

Etymology

From cease (“stop”), and desist (“to not do again”).

Verb

cease and desist (third-person singular simple present ceases and desists, present participle ceasing and desisting, simple past and past participle ceased and desisted)

1. (law) To stop and not resume an action.

   We are told to cease and desist or we will cease to exist.

Translations

stop and not resume an action

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 結束和停止 / 结束和停止 (jiéshù hé tíngzhǐ)

• Dutch: houd op en doe van afstand
• Finnish: lopettaa (fi)
• French: cessez et renoncez
• German: hören Sie auf und verzichten Sie
• Greek: πάψτε και σταματήστε (pápste kai stamatíste)
• Japanese: 停止及び再発阻止 (teishi, oyobi, saihatsu soshi)
• Korean: 지하고 단념하십시요 (ji-hago dannyeom-hasipsiyo)
• Latin: desine et desiste sg, desinete et desistete pl
• Polish: nakaz zaprzestania działalności m
• Portuguese: cessar (pt)
• Russian: прекрати́те и воздержи́тесь (prekratíte i vozderžítesʹ)
• Spanish: cesar y renunciar / desistir
• Swedish: upphöra (sv)

Noun

cease-and-desist

1. (law, chiefly attributive) A written demand that a party stops and does not resume a certain behavior, such as copyright infringement, slander, or libel, threatening legal action if the recipient fails to do so.

   She received a cease-and-desist letter from his solicitors soon after the podcast.

2. (US, law, chiefly attributive) An order by a government agency, sanctioned by a court, that one must stop and not resume a certain (usually illegal) behavior.

   His remarks did not stop the courts from issuing the cease-and-desist order.