# abeyance

> English word · Noun · IPA /əˈbeɪ.ən(t)s/ · frequency rank #61,937

## Definitions
1. Expectancy; a condition when an ownership of real property is undetermined; lapse in succession of ownership of estate, or title.
2. Suspension; temporary suppression; dormant condition.
3. Expectancy of a noble or armigeral title, its right in existence but its exercise suspended.

## Etymology
First attested in 1528. From Anglo-Norman abeiance (“legal expectation”), from Old French abeance (“desire”) from abeër (“to gape at, aspire after”), abaer, abair (“to desire”), from a (“to”) + baër (“to gape”), bair (“yawn”), from Medieval Latin batō (“to yawn”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/abeyance