English

Noun

delation ‎(plural delations)

1. (obsolete) Conveyance.
2. (law) An accusation or charge brought against someone, especially by an informer.
   • 1858, John Addington Symonds, Renaissance in Italy, Volumes 1 and 2:

     Some curious circumstances respecting delation, prison life, and autos da fe are here minutely recorded.]

   • 1789, Edward Gibbon, The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire:

     Such public defiance might become Valentinian; but it could leave no room for the unworthy delation of the philosopher Maximus, which supposes some more private offence, (Zosimus, l. iv. p. 200, 201.)]

   • 1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society 2012, p. 253:

     A wise woman who was popular with her neighbours might escape delation; whereas one who had fallen out with them might find herself accused not just of charming, but even of black witchcraft.