The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Presentment \Pre*sent"ment\, n.
   1. The act of presenting, or the state of being presented;
      presentation. " Upon the heels of my presentment." --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Setting forth to view; delineation; appearance;
      representation; exhibition.
      [1913 Webster]

            Power to cheat the eye with blear illusion,
            And give it false presentment.        --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. (Law)
      (a) The notice taken by a grand jury of any offence from
          their own knowledge or observation, without any bill
          of indictment laid before them, as, the presentment of
          a nuisance, a libel, or the like; also, an inquisition
          of office and indictment by a grand jury; an official
          accusation presented to a tribunal by the grand jury
          in an indictment, or the act of offering an
          indictment; also, the indictment itself.
      (b) The official notice (formerly required to be given in
          court) of the surrender of a copyhold estate.
          --Blackstone.
          [1913 Webster]

   Presentment of a bill of exchange, the offering of a bill
      to the drawee for acceptance, or to the acceptor for
      payment. See Bill of exchange, under Bill. --Mozley &
      W.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

presentment
    n 1: an accusation of crime made by a grand jury on its own
         initiative [syn: presentment, notification]
    2: a document that must be accepted and paid by another person
    3: a show or display; the act of presenting something to sight
       or view; "the presentation of new data"; "he gave the
       customer a demonstration" [syn: presentation,
       presentment, demonstration]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

119 Moby Thesaurus words for "presentment":
   accommodation, accordance, alphabet, arraignment, art, award,
   awarding, bail, benefit, bestowal, bestowment, bill, blueprint,
   charactering, characterization, charge, chart, choreography,
   communication, concession, conferment, conferral, contribution,
   conventional representation, dance notation, debut, delineation,
   deliverance, delivery, demonstration, depiction, depictment,
   description, diagram, display, donation, drama, drawing, enactment,
   endowment, entertainment, exemplification, exhibit, exhibition,
   exposition, exposure, farewell performance, figuration, flesh show,
   furnishment, gifting, giving, grant, granting, hieroglyphic,
   iconography, ideogram, illustration, imagery, imaging, impartation,
   impartment, impeachment, indictment, information, investiture,
   letter, liberality, limning, logogram, logograph, map,
   musical notation, notation, offer, opening, ostentation,
   performance, pictogram, picture, picturization, plan, portraiture,
   portrayal, prefigurement, premiere, presentation, printing,
   production, projection, provision, realization, rendering,
   rendition, representation, retrospective, schema, score, script,
   show, showing, stage presentation, subscription, supplying,
   surrender, swan song, syllabary, symbol, tablature,
   theatrical performance, true bill, tryout, unfolding, unfoldment,
   unveiling, varnishing day, vernissage, vouchsafement, writing



Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

PRESENTMENT, contracts. The production of a bill of exchange or promissory
note to the party on whom the former is drawn, for his acceptance, or to the
person bound to pay either, for payment.
     2. The holder of a bill is bound, in order to hold the parties to it
responsible to him, to present it in due time for acceptance, and to give
notice, if it be dishonored, to all tho parties he intends to hold liable.
And when a bill or note becomes payable, it must be presented for payment.
     3. The principal circumstances concerning presentment, are the person
to whom, the place where, and the time when, it is to be made.
     4.-1. In general the presentment for payment should be made to the
maker of a note, or the drawee of a bill for acceptance, or to the acceptor,
for payment; but a presentment made at a particular place, when payable
there, is in general sufficient. A personal demand on the drawee or acceptor
is not necessary; a demand at his usual place of residence of his wife or
other agent is sufficient. 2 Esp. Cas. 509; 5 Esp. Cas. 265 Holt's N. P.
Cas. 313.
     5.-2. When a bill or note is made payable at a particular place, a
presentment, as we have seen, may be made there; but when the acceptance is
general, it must be presented at the house or place of business of the
acceptor. 3 Kent, Com. 64, 65.
     6.-3. In treating of the time for presentment, it must be considered
with reference, 1st. To a presentment for acceptance. 2d. To one for
payment. 1st. When the bill is payable at sight, or after sight, the
presentment must be made in reasonable time; and what this reasonable time
is depends upon the circumstances of each case. 7 Taunt. 397; 1 Dall. 255; 2
Dall. 192; Ibid. 232; 4 Dall. 165; Ibid. 129; 1 Yeates, 531; 7 Serg. &
Rawle, 324; 1 Yeates 147. 2d. The presentment of a note or bill for payment
ought to be made on the day it becomes due, and notice of non-payment given,
otherwise the holder will lose the security of the drawer and endorsers of a
bill and the endorsers of a promissory note, and in case the note or bill be
payable at a particular place and the money lodged there for its payment,
the holder would probably have no recourse against the maker or acceptor, if
he did not present them on the day, and the money should be lost. 5 Barn. &
Ald. 244. Vide 5 Com. Dig. 134; 2 John. Cas. 75; 3 John. R. 230; 2 Caines'
Rep. 343; 18 John. R. 230; 2 John. R. 146, 168, 176; 2 Wheat. 373; Chit. on
Bills, Index, h.t.; Smith on Mer. Law, 138; Byles on Bills, 102.
     7. The excuses for not making a presentment are general or applicable
to all persons, who are endorsers; or they are special and applicable to the
particular' endorser only.
     8.-1. Among the former are, 1. Inevitable accident or overwhelming
calamity; Story on Bills, Sec. 308; 3 Wend. 488; 2 Smith's R. 224. 2. The
prevalence of a malignant disease, by which the ordinary operations of
business are suspended. 2 John. Cas. 1; 3 M. & S. 267; Anth. N. P. Cas. 35.
3. The breaking out of war between the country of the maker and that of the
holder. 4. The occupation of the country where the note is payable or where
the parties live, by a public enemy, which suspends commercial operations
and intercourse. 8 Cranch, 155 15 John. 57; 16 John. 438 7 Pet. 586 2 Brock.
20; 2 Smith's R. 224. 51. The obstruction of the ordinary negotiations of
trade by the vi's maj or. 6. Positive interdictions and public regulations
of the state which suspend commerce and intercourse. 7. The utter
impracticability of finding the maker, or ascertaining his place of
residence. Story on Pr. N. 205, 236, 238, 241, 264.
     9.-2. Among the latter or special excuses for not making a
presentment may be enumerated the following: 1. The receiving the note by
the holder from the payee, or other antecedent party, too late to make a due
presentment; this will be an excuse as to such party.  16 East, 248; 7 Mass.
483; Story, P. N. Sec. 201, 265; 11 Wheat. 431 2 Wheat. 373. 2. The note
being an accommodation note of the maker for the benefit of the endorser.
Story on Bills, Sec. 370; see 2 Brock. 20; 7 Harr. & J. 381; 7 Mass. 452; 1
Wash. C. C. R. 461; 2 Wash. C. C. R. 514; 1 Raym. 271; 4 Mason, 113; 1 Har.
& G. 468; 1 Caines, 157; 1 Stew. 175; 5 Pick. 88; 21 Pick. 327. 3. A special
agreement by which the endorser waives the presentment. 8 Greenl. 213; 11
Wheat. 629; Story on Bills, Sec. 371, 373; 6 Wheat. 572. 4. The receiving
security or money by an endorser to secure himself from loss, or to pay the
note at maturity. In this case, when the indemnity or money is a full
security for the amount of the note or bill, no presentment is requisite.
Story on Bills, Sec. 374; Story on P. N. Sec. 281; 4 Watts, 328.; 9 Gill &
John. 47; 7 Wend. 165; 2 Greenl. 207; 5 Mass. l70; 5 Conn. 175. 5. The
receiving the note by the holder from the endorser, as a collateral security
for another debt. Story on Pr. Notes, Sec. 284; Story on Bills, Sec. 372; 2
How. S. C. R. 427, 457.
    10. A want of presentment may be waived by the party to be affected,
after a full knowledge of the fact. 8 S. & R. 438; see 6 Wend. 658; 3 Bibb,
102; 5 John. 385; 4 Mass. 347; 7 Mass. 452; Wash. C. C. R. 506; Bac. Ab.
Merchant, &c. M. Vide, generally, 1 Hare & Wall. Sel. Dec. 214, 224. See
Notice of dishonor.



Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

PRESENTMENT, crim. law, practice. The written notice taken by a grand jury
of any offence, from their own knowledge or observation, without any bill of
indictment laid before them at the suit of the government; 4 Bl. Com. 301;
upon such presentment, when 'proper, the officer employed to prosecute,
afterwards frames a till of indictment, which is then sent to the grand
jury, and they find it to be a true bill. In an extended sense presentments
include not only what is properly so called, but also inquisitions of
office, and indictments found by a grand jury. 2 Hawk. c. 25, s. 1.
     2. The difference between a presentment and an inquisition, (q.v.) is
this, that the former is found by a grand jury authorized to inquire of
offences generally, whereas the latter is an accusation found by a jury
specially returned to inquire concerning the particular offence. 2 Hawk. c.
25, s. 6. Vide, generally, Com. Dig. Indictment, B Bac. Ab. Indictment, A 1
Chit. Cr. Law, 163; 7 East, R. 387 1 Meigs. 112; 11 Humph. 12.
     3. The writing which contains the accusation so presented by a grand
jury, is also called a presentment. Vide 1 Brock. C. C. R. 156; Grand Jury.