\Con"tu*ma*cy\, n.; pl. {Contumacies}. [L. contumacia,
fr. contumax, -acis, insolent; prob. akin to contemnere to
despise: cf. F. contumace. Cf. {Contemn}.]
1. Stubborn perverseness; pertinacious resistance to
   authority.

         The bishop commanded him . . . to be thrust into the
         stocks for his manifest and manifold contumacy.
                                               --Strype.

2. (Law) A willful contempt of, and disobedience to, any
   lawful summons, or to the rules and orders of court, as a
   refusal to appear in court when legally summoned.

Syn: Stubbornness; perverseness; obstinacy.