labefaction

English

WOTD – 29 May 2009

Etymology

From Latin labefaciō (labo to totter + facio to make).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌlæb.əˈfæk.ʃən/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

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”, in Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, volume 3, number 4, page 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

• labefy

Translations

act of shaking orweakening or the resulting state; overthrow, ruination

• Bulgarian: отслабване (bg) n (otslabvane), упадък (bg) m (upadǎk)
• Czech: oslabení (cs) n, pád (cs) m
• Dutch: verzwakken (nl), aan het wankelen brengen
• Finnish: horjuttaminen (fi)
• Russian: ослабле́ние (ru) n (oslablénije), паде́ние (ru) n (padénije)

References

• labefaction in An American Dictionary of the English Language, by Noah Webster, 1828.
• “labefaction”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “labefaction”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.