obeyance
English
Etymology 1
From obey + -ance.
Noun
obeyance (uncountable)
- obedience
- 1829, Various, The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction:
- Poor fellow! how happy would a companion make you, to whom you could relate your battles, bouts, and courtships; but mum is the order, and Jack is used to an implicit obeyance of head-quarter orders.
- 1912, W.J. Jackman and Thos. H. Russell, Flying Machines:
- One of the instructions given by experienced aviators to pupils, and for which they insist upon implicit obeyance, is: "If your machine gets more than 30 feet high, or comes closer to the ground than 6 feet, descend at once."
- 1962, Harry Harrison, Planet of the Damned:
- The tall soldiers of Nyjord moved in ready obeyance of their commander.
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Etymology 2
Misspelling or alteration of abeyance, by association with obey.
Noun
obeyance (uncountable)
- (nonstandard) abeyance
- 1897, Dorothy Quigley, What Dress Makes of Us:
- The disfiguring wrinkles that make many necks unsightly may be kept in obeyance by massaging.
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