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definitions

-ence

  1. a noun suffix equivalent to -ance, corresponding to the suffix -ent in adjectives: abstinence; continence; dependence; difference.

Origin of -ence

Middle English < Old French < Latin -entia, equivalent to -ent- -ent + -ia -y3
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for -ence

-ence

-ency

suffix forming nouns
  1. indicating an action, state, condition, or qualitybenevolence; residence; patience

Word Origin for -ence

via Old French from Latin -entia, from -ēns, present participial ending
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for -ence

see -ance.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper