abeyance

English

Etymology

Old French abeance, expectation, longing; a Latin (ad) + baer, beer, to gape, to look with open mouth, to expect, French bayer, Late Latin badare to gape.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA: /əˈbeɪəns/

Noun

abeyance (plural abeyances)

1. (law) Expectancy; condition of being undetermined.

   The proceeds of the estate shall be held in abeyance in an escrow account until the minor reaches age twenty-one.

   When there is no person in existence in whom an inheritance (or a dignity) can vest, it is said to be in abeyance. -Blackstone

2. Suspension; temporary suppression.
   • 2003, Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything, BCA 2003, p. 376:

     Without a plausible explanation for what might have provoked an ice age, the whole theory fell into abeyance.

3. (heraldry) Expectancy of a title, its right in existence but its exercise suspended.

   The broad pennant of a commodore first class has been in abeyance since 1958, together with the rank.

Translations

expectancy; condition of being undetermined

Bulgarian: временно бездействие (bg), изчакване (bg) Dutch: onbeslistheid (nl), onzekerheid (nl) Finnish: jäädytys (fi) (in abeyance = jäädytettynä) French: vacance (fr) f., vacant (fr)

German: Unentschlossenheit (de) f., Unentschiedenheit (de) f. Norwegian: uavklart (no) Spanish: expectativa (es) f., esperanza (es) f.

suspension; temporary suppression

Bulgarian: суспендиране (bg) Dutch: opschorting (nl), uitstel (nl) Finnish: lykkäys (fi) (in abeyance = lykättynä) French: en suspens adj, suspension f.

Irish: fionraí (ga) f. Norwegian: utsettelse (no) Spanish: suspensión (es) f., desuso (es) m.

heraldry: expectancy of a title

Finnish: lepääminen (fi) (in abeyance = lepäämässä)

French: vacance (fr) f.

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Interlingua: suspension

Vietnamese: sự đọng lại, sự đình chỉ, sự hoãn lại, sự tạm thời không áp dụng, tình trạng tạm thời không có người nhận, tình trạng tạm thời vô chủ, tình trạng trống, tình trạng khuyết

Shorthand

• Gregg (Version: Centennial,Series 90,DJS,Simplified,Anniversary): a - b - a - n - left s

(Version: Pre-Anniversary): a - b - e - n - left s