senefiance

Middle French

Noun

senefiance f (plural senefiances)

Rare form of signifiance.

Old French

Alternative forms

cenefiance, segnefiance, segnefience, senefianche, senifiance
signifiance, signifianche (influenced by signe)

Etymology

Semi-learned borrowing from Latin significantia (the inherited form would be *senechance, *senegiance, compare senechier); equivalent to senefier +‎ -ance. Doublet of significance.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˌse.nə.fiˈan.t͡sə/
(Northern) IPA^(key): /ˌse.nə.fiˈan.t͡ʃə/
(with learned influence) IPA^(key): /ˌsi.ɲi.fiˈan.t͡sə/

Noun

senefiance oblique singular, f (oblique plural senefiances, nominative singular senefiance, nominative plural senefiances)

sign; signal; indication
significance; importance

Descendants

Middle French: signifiance, senefiance (influenced by signe)
- French: signifiance (now literary or technical)
Gallo: sènefiance
Poitevin-Saintongeais: sanefionce
→ Middle English: signifiaunce, signefiance, signifiance, signifiauns, signifyaunce, signyfiaunce, sygnyfyaunce, syngnefiaunce, syngnefyaunce
- English: signifiance (obsolete)
- Middle Scots: signifiance

References

Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “significare”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volumes 11: S–Si, page 603
Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (segnefiance)

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