'To bid defiance' definitions:
Definition of 'To bid defiance'
From: GCIDE
- Defiance \De*fi"ance\, n. [OF. defiance, desfiance, challenge, fr. desfier to challenge, F. d['e]fier. See Defy.]
- 1. The act of defying, putting in opposition, or provoking to combat; a challenge; a provocation; a summons to combat. [1913 Webster]
- A war without a just defiance made. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
- Stood for her cause, and flung defiance down. --Tennyson. [1913 Webster]
- 2. A state of opposition; willingness to flight; disposition to resist; contempt of opposition. [1913 Webster]
- He breathed defiance to my ears. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
- 3. A casting aside; renunciation; rejection. [Obs.] "Defiance to thy kindness." --Ford. [1913 Webster]
- To bid defiance, To set at defiance, to defy; to disregard recklessly or contemptuously. --Locke. [1913 Webster]