Chevisance

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Chevisance \Chev"i*sance\, n. [Of. chevisance, chevissance, fr.
     chevircome to an end, perform, fr. chef head, end, from L.
     caput head. See {Chieve}, {Chief}.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. Achievement; deed; performance. [Obs.]
        [1913 Webster]


  
              Fortune, the foe of famous chevisance. --Spenser.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A bargain; profit; gain. [Obs.] --Piers Plowman.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (O. Eng. Law)
        (a) A making of contracts.
        (b) A bargain or contract; an agreement about a matter in
            dispute, such as a debt; a business compact.
        (c) An unlawful agreement or contract.
            [1913 Webster]

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  CHEVISANCE, contracts, torts. This is a French word, which signifies in that 
  language, accord, agreement, compact. In the English statutes it is used to 
  denote a bargain or contract in general. In a legal sense it is taken for an 
  unlawful bargain or contract.