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Synonyms of abeyance
Abeyance
5 dictionary results for: abeyance
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
a·bey·ance 
[uh-bey-uhns] Pronunciation Key
[uh-bey-uhns] Pronunciation Key –noun
| 1. | temporary inactivity, cessation, or suspension: Let's hold that problem in abeyance for a while. |
| 2. | Law. a state or condition of real property in which title is not as yet vested in a known titleholder: an estate in abeyance. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| a·bey·ance
(ə-bā'əns) Pronunciation Key
n.
[Anglo-Norman, variant of Old French abeance, desire, from abaer, to gape at : a-, at (from Latin ad-; see ad-) + baer, to gape; see bay2.] a·bey'ant adj. |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
abeyance
abeyance
1528, from Anglo-Fr. abeiance "suspension," also "expectation (especially in a lawsuit)," from O.Fr. abeance "aspiration, desire," noun of condition of abeer "aspire after, gape" from à "at" + ba(y)er "be open," from L. *batare "to yawn, gape" (see abash). Originally in O.Fr. a legal term, "condition of a person in expectation or hope of receiving property;" it turned around in Eng. law to mean "condition of property temporarily without an owner" (1660). Root baer is also the source of English bay (2) "recessed space," as in "bay window."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Abeyance
A*bey"ance\, n. [OF. abeance expectation, longing; a (L. ad) + baer, beer, to gape, to look with open mouth, to expect, F. bayer, LL. badare to gape.]1. (Law) Expectancy; condition of being undetermined. Note: When there is no person in existence in whom an inheritance (or a dignity) can vest, it is said to be in abeyance, that is, in expectation; the law considering it as always potentially existing, and ready to vest whenever a proper owner appears. --Blackstone. 2. Suspension; temporary suppression. Keeping the sympathies of love and admiration in a dormant state, or state of abeyance. --De Quincey.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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