Despite
Full Definition of NOTWITHSTANDING. See notwithstanding defined for English-language learners. See notwithstanding defined for kids. ADVERTISEMENT. Origin. Middle English (originally used as a noun meaning 'contempt, scorn' in the phrase in despite of): from Old French despit, from Latin despectus 'looking down on', past participle (used as a noun) of despicere (see despise) . Definition of despite in: 1  US English dictionary. 2  English synonyms. Despite. Despite means even though, notwithstanding, or regardless of.. It’s the opposite of because of/due to, and can be used with a noun or gerund. She had difficulty communicating in French despite all her years of study. We lost the game, despite the fact that we practiced all week. The courts, in a number of instances, have accepted that the plain meaning of notwithstanding is in spite of.. In Sanchez-Rodriguez, Justice Graci rejected the proposal that notwithstanding could mean in addition to and, instead, adopted this definition: ... in spite of ...
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/notwithstanding http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/despite http://www.elearnenglishlanguage.com/blog/english-mistakes/despite-vs-in-spite-of/ http://www.duhaime.org/LegalDictionary/N/Notwithstanding.aspx
what is meant by the word - notwithstanding