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definitions

séance

[sey-ahns]
|

noun

a meeting in which a spiritualist attempts to communicate with the spirits of the dead.
a session or sitting, as of a class or organization.

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RELATED WORDS

gathering, meeting, ritual, session

Nearby words

  1. são tomé and príncipe,
  2. são vicente,
  3. sève,
  4. sèvres,
  5. sèvres ware,
  6. sémillon,
  7. sérac,
  8. sévigné,
  9. sévigné, marie de rabutin-chantal, marquise de,
  10. sézary cell

Origin of séance

1795–1805; < French: session, equivalent to sé-, base of seoir to sit1 (< Latin sedēre) + -ance -ance
Can be confusedscience séance
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for seance

British Dictionary definitions for seance

seance

sance

noun

a meeting at which spiritualists attempt to receive messages from the spirits of the dead
a meeting of a society

Word Origin for seance

C19: from French, literally: a sitting, from Old French seoir to sit, from Latin sedēre
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 seance

seance

n.

1789, "sitting, session," as of a learned society, from French séance "a sitting," from seoir "to sit," from Latin sedere (see sedentary). Meaning "spiritualistic session" first recorded 1845.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper