OBSERVANCE

observation, observance, watching

(noun) the act of observing; taking a patient look

honoring, observance

(noun) conformity with law or custom or practice etc.

notice, observation, observance

(noun) the act of noticing or paying attention; “he escaped the notice of the police”

ceremony, ceremonial, ceremonial occasion, observance

(noun) a formal event performed on a special occasion; “a ceremony commemorating Pearl Harbor”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

observance (countable and uncountable, plural observances)

The practice of complying with a law, custom, command or rule.

The custom of celebrating a holiday or similar occasion.

Observation or the act of watching.

(religion) A rule governing a religious order, especially in the Roman Catholic church.

That which is to be observed.

Reverence; homage.

Antonyms

• misobservance

Source: Wiktionary


Ob*serv"ance, n. Etym: [F.observance, L. observantia. See Observant.]

1. The act or practice of observing or noticing with attention; a heeding or keeping with care; performance; -- usually with a sense of strictness and fidelity; as, the observance of the Sabbath is general; the strict observance of duties. It is a custom More honored in the breach than the observance. Shak.

2. An act, ceremony, or rite, as of worship or respect; especially, a customary act or service of attention; a form; a practice; a rite; a custom. At dances These young folk kept their observances. Chaucer. Use all the observance of civility. Shak. Some represent to themselves the whole of religion as consisting in a few easy observances. Rogers. O I that wasted time to tend upon her, To compass her with sweet observances! Tennyson.

3. Servile attention; sycophancy. [Obs.] Salads and flesh, such as their haste could get, Served with observance. Chapman. This is not atheism, But court observance. Beau. & Fl.

Syn.

– Observance, Observation. These words are discriminated by the two distinct senses of observe. To observe means (1) to keep strictly; as, to observe a fast day, and hence, observance denotes the keeping or heeding with strictness; (2) to consider attentively, or to remark; and hence, observation denotes either the act of observing, or some remark made as the result thereof. We do not say the observation of Sunday, though the word was formerly so used. The Pharisees were curious in external observances; the astronomers are curious in celestial observations. Love rigid honesty, And strict observance of impartial laws. Roscommon.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

25 December 2024

UNAMBIGUOUS

(adjective) having or exhibiting a single clearly defined meaning; “As a horror, apartheid...is absolutely unambiguous”- Mario Vargas Llosa


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

Coffee is a brewed drink prepared from roasted coffee beans, the seeds of berries from certain Coffea species. When coffee berries turn from green to bright red – indicating ripeness – they are picked, processed, and dried. Dried coffee seeds are roasted to varying degrees, depending on the desired flavor.

coffee icon