séance

[ sey-ahns ]

noun

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

seance

/ ˈseɪɑ̃ns; -ɑːns /

noun

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

Spelling Note

See resume ².

Word History and Origins

Origin of séance¹

1795–1805; < French: session, equivalent to sé-, base of seoir to sit ¹ (< Latin sedēre ) + -ance -ance

Word History and Origins

Origin of séance¹

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

Example Sentences

At each séance, more and more men pressed eagerly round the table.

From The Daily Beast

By the fourth night, one of them was awarded a paranormal license for maxing out their Medium skill after several séances.

From Washington Post

You would see it small, shrunken, dropped together, just like the body of a materialising medium at a seance.

From Project Gutenberg

Margaret Halley stared reflectively at the blotting-pad for a moment, and then described a typical seance at Kazmah's.

From Project Gutenberg

When Old Stone Face had been staring at them during the seance—seance?

From Project Gutenberg

This was all carried out preliminary to a seance, and a final examination of the room was made.

From Project Gutenberg

Immediately on beginning the seance the young girl was taken possession of by an entity claiming to be Turner.

From Project Gutenberg