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cess1

[ses]
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noun
  1. British. a tax, assessment, or lien.
  2. (in Scotland) a land tax.
  3. (in Ireland) a military assessment.
  4. (in India) an import or sales tax on a commodity.
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verb (used with object)
  1. British. to tax; assess.
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Origin of cess1

1400–50; late Middle English; aphetic variant of obsolete assess assessment, noun use of assess (v.)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for cessed

Historical Examples

  • And frequently they were forced to pay quartering money for more men than were in reality “cessed on them.”

    The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. XXII (of 25)

    Robert Louis Stevenson

  • And frequently they were forced to pay quartering money for more men than were in reality ‘cessed on them.’

    Lay Morals

    Robert Louis Stevenson

British Dictionary definitions for cessed

cess1

noun
  1. British any of several special taxes, such as a land tax in Scotland
  2. (formerly, in Ireland)
    1. the obligation to provide the soldiers and household of the lord deputy with supplies at fixed prices
    2. any military exaction
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verb
  1. (tr) British to tax or assess for taxation
  2. (formerly in Ireland) to impose (soldiers) upon a population, to be supported by them
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Word Origin

C16: short for assessment

cess2

noun
  1. an Irish slang word for luck bad cess to you!
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Word Origin

C19: probably from cess 1 (sense 2)

cess3

noun
  1. short for cesspool
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for cessed

cess

n.

"tax, levy," 1530s, short for assess (q.v.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper