-ency

suffix forming nouns denoting a quality (efficiency; fluency) or state (presidency) but not action (cf. -ENCE).
Etymology: L -entia (cf. -ANCY)

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\\ənsē, ^ən-, -si\ noun suffix (-es)

Etymology: Middle English -encie, from Latin -entia — more at -ence

1. : quality or state

efficiency

expediency

2. : one having a (specified) quality or being in a (specified) state

His Excellency

3. : instance of a (specified) quality or state

repeated inadvertencies

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a noun suffix, equivalent to -ence: consistency; dependency; exigency.

[-ENCE + -Y³]

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-ency,

suffix.

1. added to verbs the act or fact of _____ing: »

Dependency = the act or fact of depending.

2. added to adjectives ending in -ent the quality or condition of being _____ent: »

Frequency = the condition of being frequent.

3. other meanings, as in agency, currency.

╂[< Latin -entia; see etym. under -ence (Cf. ↑-ence)]

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

ency., encyc., or encycl.,

encyclopedia.

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[ənsē; n-sē]

suffix forming nouns

1) denoting a quality

efficiency

2) denoting a state

presidency

•

Origin:

from Latin -entia (compare with -ence)

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-ency [-ency] ;

» ↑-ancy

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-ency

ad. L. -entia, the termination of abstract ns. formed upon pr. pples. (ppl. adjs. or ns.) in -ent- by means of the suffix -ia (whence Eng. -y in modesty, fallacy, etc.: see -y, -cy). The L. ns. in -entia (like those in -ia generally) denoted primarily qualities or states; but some of them came by development of sense to be nouns of action or process, and in late L. and in Romanic the formation of nouns of action became the normal function of the suffix. Consequently the Eng. ns. in -ence (which are adaptations of L. types in -entia either through Fr. or according to Fr. analogies) have very frequently the sense of action or process, either in addition to, or to the exclusion of, that of quality or state. The ns. in -ency, on the other hand, being purely English adaptations of the Latin types, have properly only the sense of quality or state, and concrete senses thence developed. As exemplifying this difference of use between the two suffixes, cf. recurrence and currency, confluence and fluency, residence and presidency. When the same word exists in both the -ence and the -ency forms, the tendency is (where the sense of the verbal etymon permits) to restrict the former to action or process (i.e. to connect its meaning rather with that of the vb. than with that of the adj.), while the latter is used to express quality; cf. coherence and coherency, persistence and persistency. In a few instances both forms of a word have equally the sense of quality or condition; in most of these cases the one or the other of the forms has become obsolete or archaic; where they are both in current use, the distinction usually is that -ency has a more distinct reference to the sense of the related adj. or n. in -ent, considered as the predicate of some particular subject; cf. for example, ‘sentience is an attribute of animals’ with ‘some maintain the sentiency of plants’. See -ancy.