abeyance
noun
Vimala Sarma
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When should you use abeyance?
Abeyance comes from Old French baer, meaning "to have the mouth wide open," which was joined with the prefix a- to form abaer, a verb meaning "to open wide," and, in later Anglo-French usage, "to expect or await." There followed Anglo-French abeyance, which referred to a state of expectation—specifically, a person's expectation of inheriting a title or property. The word, in English, was then applied for the expectation to the property itself: a property or title "in abeyance" is in temporary limbo, waiting to be claimed by a rightful heir or owner.
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Examples of abeyance in a Sentence
Stephen Metcalf, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2024
With the deal in abeyance and Iran rapidly growing its nuclear program, its regional forces will become more brazen.
—Vali Nasr, Foreign Affairs, 2 Dec. 2021
Cuba could no longer compete when Fidel Castro banned professional baseball in 1961, and the series went into abeyance.
—Dominic Pino, National Review, 6 Feb. 2024
And Chinese titles have come to dominate the country’s own theatrical and streaming markets to such a point that the long-standing import quotas may have fallen into abeyance.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 3 Jan. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Abeyance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abeyance. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
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Medical Definition
abeyance
noun
Legal Definition
abeyance
noun
J. H. Friedenthal et al.Middle French abeance expectation (of a title or claimant), from abaer to expect, from a-, prefix stressing result + baer to gape, aim at
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