Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language is regarded by many as the finest English
dictionary ever published. The dictionary is available in many forms. I made the content available here for my own purposes,
out of personal admiration for this particular dictionary.
DILAPIDATION, n. 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.