See Also: dereliction(dictionary)
dereliction(dictionary)

dereliction (iou)



dereliction noun. L16.
[Latin derelictio(n-), from derelict- pa. ppl stem of derelinquere: see DERELICT, -ION.]
The state of being abandoned or forsaken; dilapidation, neglect. L16.
J. Harvey The dereliction of a breakfast-table..bobbing with orange-peels, ribboned with bacon-rind, cluttered with jams and marmalades.
The act of deliberate abandonment. Now rare exc. Law, of a chattel or movable. E17.
Gibbon This wise dereliction of obsolete, vexatious, and unprofitable claims.
b. Law. The leaving behind of dry land by the retreat of the sea; the land thus left. M18.
Failure, cessation; esp. sudden failure of the bodily or mental powers. M17-L18.
Reprehensible abandonment; wilful neglect. Chiefly in dereliction of duty. L18.
Burke A dereliction of every opinion and principle that I have held. J. Galsworthy So grave a dereliction of all duty, both human and divine.
b. Failure in duty; shortcoming. E19.
W. Styron I was guilty of a grave dereliction.