observance
French, noun/ɔp.sɛʁ.vɑ̃s/
observance is spelled O-B-S-E-R-V-A-N-C-E (10 letters) and appears about once in every 1 million words in written French, the 34,445th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Observance is a French feminine noun meaning “observance” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Pratique d’une règle, exécution de ce que prescrit une règle, et souvent une règle religieuse”.
What does observance mean in English?
noun
- 1
feminineobservance
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Pratique d’une règle, exécution de ce que prescrit une règle, et souvent une règle religieuse. 2. Degré de concordance entre le comportement d’un individu et les prescriptions médicales qu’il a reçues. 3. Cette règle, cette loi religieuse. 4. Ordre religieux où la règle monastique s’observe strictement.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of observance
- observances plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce observance?
- /ɔp.sɛʁ.vɑ̃s/
- \ɔp.sɛʁ.vɑ̃s\
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to observance
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is observance in French?
observance appears about once in every 1 million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).