Heedlessness; lack of attention; failure of a person to pay careful and prudent attention to the progress of a negotiation or a proceeding in court by which his rights may be affected. Used chiefly in statutory enumerations of the grounds on which a Judgment or decree ma? be vacated or set aside; as, “mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.” See Skinner v. Terry, 107 N. C. 103, 12 S. E. 118; Davis v. Steuben School Tp., 19 Ind. App. 694, 50 N. E. 1; Taylor v. Pope, 106 N. C. 267, 11 S. E. 257, 19 Am. St. Rep. 530; Thompson v. Connell, 31 Or. 231, 48 Pac. 467, 66 Am. St. Rep. 81.