Meaning

noun the speech act of answering an attack on your assertions

noun any evidence that helps to establish the falsity of something

noun the act of determining that something is false

originBorrowed from Middle French refutation (compare French réfutation, Spanish refutación, Portuguese refutação, Italian refutazione) or its etymon Latin refūtātiō, from refūtō + -ātiō. By surface analysis, refute + -ation. First attested in 1536 (in sense 1).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0