In pleading and evidence. To rebut is to defeat or take away the effect of something. Thus, when- a plaintiff in an action produces evidence which raises a pre- sumption of the defendant’s liability, and the defendant adduces evidence which shows that the presumption is ill-founded, he is said to “rebut it.” Sweet. In the old law of real property, to rebut was to repel or bar a claim. Thus, when a person was sued for land which had been warranted to him by the plaintiff or his an- cestor, and he pleaded the warranty as a defense to the action, this was call^l a “re- butter.” Co. Litt 365a; Termes de la Ley.