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convenance

[kon-vuh-nahns; French kawnvuh-nahns]
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noun, plural con·ve·nanc·es [kon-vuh-nahn-siz; French kawnvuh-nahns] /ˈkɒn vəˌnɑn sɪz; French kɔ̃vəˈnɑ̃s/.
  1. suitability; expediency; propriety.
  2. convenances, the social proprieties or conventionalities.
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Origin of convenance

1475–85; < Anglo-French, equivalent to conven(ir) to be proper + -ance -ance
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for convenance

Historical Examples

  • We make marriages of convenance in our country, que diable, and what follows follows; but no scandal afterwards!

    The Newcomes

    William Makepeace Thackeray

British Dictionary definitions for convenance

convenance

noun
  1. suitable behaviour; propriety
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Word Origin

from convenir to be suitable, from Latin convenīre; see convenient
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 convenance

n.

late 15c., from French convenance "convention, agreement, convenience," from convenant, present participle of convenir "to come together" (see convene).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper