-ance

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English -aunce, also -ance,^[1][2] borrowed from Anglo-Norman -ance and Old French -ance,^[2][3][4][5] from Latin -antia, which also came directly in some words,^[2][4][6] made up of -āns, the present participle ending of verbs with stems in a and the source of -ant, and the noun suffix -ia, the source of -y.^[2][3][4][5] Old French generally levelled the more common -entia under the same form, so -ance also continues that ending, as in penance from paenitentia.^[2][7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Borrowings from French are recorded from the beginning of the 13th century, as in ignorance and pittance, and spellings such as -aunce suggest that they were first stressed on the last syllable.^[2] Words clearly borrowed from Latin appear from the beginning of the 15th century, such as significance beside the earlier signifiance from French.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Because a French verb and its noun in -ance often entered English together, as with appear and appearance, the suffix to some extent became a living one, and it was added to verbs of other origin, as in forbearance, hindrance, riddance and utterance.^[5][7] Medieval and later borrowings from Latin into French kept the vowel of the Latin ending, and so English has elegance beside prudence.^[2][4] From about 1500 English also restored -ence selectively in some French words to match Latin, leaving the inconsistency seen in dependant and independence.^[8][7][4]

Timeline

• c. 1225 – ignorance.^[2]
• c. 1325 – allowance.^[2]
• 1384 – appearance.^[2]
• early 15th century – significance, one of the first clearly from Latin.^[2]
• c. 1500 on – some words respelled with -ence.^[8][7]

Meanings

Suffix

1. Forming nouns for an action or process, or an instance of it: attendance, performance.^[3][4][9]
2. Forming nouns for a quality or state, or an instance of it: resemblance, temperance.^[3][4][9]
3. In science, forming nouns for an amount or degree: conductance, transmittance.^[3]

Word family

• distance
• entrance
• importance
• insurance
• substance

Related words

• -ency
• -ant
• -ancy
• -ence

Usage notes

On a stem that is a word of its own, the suffix leaves the stress where it was: admit, admittance.^[10]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
10. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press