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Webster 1913 Edition
Nuisance
Nui′sance
,Noun.
[OE.
noisance
, OF. noisance
, nuisance
, fr. L. nocentia
guilt, fr. nocere
to hurt, harm; akin to necare
to kill. Cf Necromancy
, Nocent
, Noxious
, Pernicious
.] That which annoys or gives trouble and vexation; that which is offensive or noxious.
☞ Nuisances are public when they annoy citizens in general; private, when they affect individuals only.
Webster 1828 Edition
Nuisance
NU'ISANCE
,Noun.
1.
That which annoys or gives trouble and vexation; that which is offensive or noxious. A liar is a nusance to society.2.
In law, that which incommodes or annoys; something that produces inconvenience or damage. Nusances are public or private; public, when they annoy citizens in general, as obstructions of the highway; private, when they affect individuals only, as when one man erects a house so near his neighbor's as to throw the water off the roof upon his neighbor's land or house, or to intercept the light that his neighbor before enjoyed.