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Webster 1913 Edition
Defalcation
Deˊfal-ca′tion
,Noun.
[LL.
defalcatio
: cf. F. défalcation
.] 1.
A lopping off; a diminution; abatement; deficit. Specifically: Reduction of a claim by deducting a counterclaim; set- off.
Abbott.
2.
That which is lopped off, diminished, or abated.
3.
An abstraction of money, etc., by an officer or agent having it in trust; an embezzlement.
Webster 1828 Edition
Defalcation
DEFALCATION
,. N.1.
The act of cutting off, or deducting a part; deduction; diminution; abatement; as, let him have the amount of his rent without defalcation.2.
That which is cut off; as, this loss is a defalcation from the revenue.Definition 2024
defalcation
defalcation
See also: défalcation
English
Noun
defalcation (plural defalcations)
- (law) The act of cancelling part of a claim by deducting a smaller claim which the claimant owes to the defendant.
- embezzlement
- 1931, Francis Beeding, chapter 10/6, in Death Walks in Eastrepps:
- “Why should Eldridge commit murder? […] There was only one possible motive—namely, he wished to avoid detection as James Selby of Anaconda Ltd. He had settled down in Estrepps. There were several persons in the town who had suffered from his defalcations. […] ”
-
Related terms
Translations
act of cancelling part of a claim
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References
- ↑ “defalcation” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (2001).