desuetude

enUK

des·ue·tude

D0167500 (dĕs′wĭ-to͞od′, -tyo͞od′)n. A state of disuse or inactivity.

[French désuétude, from Latin dēsuētūdō, from dēsuētus, past participle of dēsuēscere, to put out of use : dē-, de- + suēscere, to become accustomed; see s(w)e- in Indo-European roots.]

desuetude

(dɪˈsjuːɪˌtjuːd; ˈdɛswɪtjuːd) nformal the condition of not being in use or practice; disuse: those ceremonies had fallen into desuetude. [C15: from Latin dēsuētūdō, from dēsuescere to lay aside a habit, from de- + suescere to grow accustomed]

des•ue•tude

(ˈdɛs wɪˌtud, -ˌtyud)

n. the state of being no longer used or practiced. [1425–75; late Middle English < Latin dēsuētūdo, derivative of dēsuē-, variant s. of dēsuēscere to lose the habit of, unlearn]

Thesaurus

Noun

desuetude - a state of inactivity or disuseinaction, inactiveness, inactivity - the state of being inactive

desuetude

nounThe quality or state of being obsolete:disuse, obsoleteness, obsoletism.

Translations

Desuetude

Related to Desuetude: desuetudo

Desuetude

The state of being unused; legally, the doctrine by which a law or treaty is rendered obsolete because of disuse. The concept encompasses situations in which a court refuses to enforce an unused law even if the law has not been repealed.

Desuetude saw use as a defense during the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 2003 decision in Lawrence v. Texas, which dealt with Texas' Sodomy law. Lawrence successfully argued that since statutes prohibiting sodomy had either fallen into obscurity or been overturned in most states, Texas' statute was similarly invalid.

DESUETUDE. This term is applied to laws which have become obsolete. (q.v.)

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Synonyms for desuetude

noun the quality or state of being obsolete

Synonyms

Words related to desuetude

noun a state of inactivity or disuse

Related Words