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purveyance

American  
[per-vey-uhns] / pərˈveɪ əns /

noun

  1. the act of purveying.

  2. something that is purveyed, as provisions.

  3. English Law. a prerogative of the crown, abolished in 1660, allowing provisions, supplies, or services for the sovereign or the royal household to be purchased or acquired at an appraised value.

purveyance British  
/ pəˈveɪəns /

noun

  1. history the collection or requisition of provisions for a sovereign

  2. rare the act of purveying

  3. rare that which is purveyed

"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

Other Word Forms

  • nonpurveyance noun

Etymology

Origin of purveyance

1225–75; purvey + -ance; replacing Middle English purvea ( u ) nce, purvya ( u ) nce < Old French purveance < Latin prōvidentia. See providence

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.