DILAPIDATION, noun 1. Ecclesiastical waste; a voluntary wasting or suffering to go to decay any building in possession of an incumbent. dilapidation is voluntary or active, when an incumbent pulls down a building; permissive or passive, when he suffers it to decay and neglects to repair it. dilapidation extends to the waste or destruction of wood, and other property of the church. 2. Destruction; demolition; decay; ruin. 3. Peculation.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI