-ancy

suffix forming nouns denoting a quality (constancy; relevancy) or state (expectancy; infancy) ({{}}cf. -ANCE).
Etymology: from or after L -antia: cf. -ENCY

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\\ənsē, -si\ noun suffix (-es)

Etymology: Latin -antia — more at -ance

1. : quality or state

buoyancy

pliancy

2. : instance of a quality or state

expectancy

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a combination of -ance and -y, used to form nouns denoting state or quality: brilliancy.

[ < L -antia, equiv. to -ant- -ANT (-a- thematic vowel + -nt- prp. suffix) + -ia -Y³]

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-ancy,

suffix. a form of -ance, expressing more distinctly the sense of quality or state, as in ascendancy, buoyancy.

Usage See -ance for usage note. (Cf. ↑-ance)

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suffix (forming nouns) denoting a quality or state

buoyancy | expectancy. Compare with -ance

Origin:

representing Latin suffix -antia (see also -ency)

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-ancy [-ancy] -ency suffix

(in nouns) the state or quality of

•

expectancy

•

complacency

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-ancy, suffix

[ad. L. -āntia, forming abstr. ns. on ppl. adjs. in -ānt-em (see -ant).]

A modern Eng. differentiated form of the earlier -ance, expressing more distinctly the sense of quality, state, or condition, often belonging to L. ns. in -ntia, as in ēlegāntia ‘elegant-ness,’ prūdēntia ‘prudentness,’ as distinct from the sense of action or process, regularly expressed by the Fr. form -ance, as in aid-ance, assist-ance, guid-ance, admitt-ance. Partly used to form new words, partly to refashion earlier words in -ance, expressing quality. If the L. diligentia, elegāntia, temperāntia, prūdēntia, were now for the first time adopted as Eng., they would be made diligency, elegancy, temperancy, prudency; they owe their existing forms in -nce, to the fact that they were adopted from Fr., long before -ncy came into use. But many words, once like these, have been refashioned, and now appear with -ncy; e.g. constancy, infancy, piquancy, vacancy; the modern tendency being to confine -nce to action, and to express quality or state by -ncy; cf. compliance, pliancy, annoyance, buoyancy. For the formation see -ency, and cf. -acy, -cy.