A-be̱y'ançe, n.
(-bā'ans), n. [Norm. Fr. abbaiaunce, abaïzance, boyance, expectation, from O. Fr. baer, beer, N. Fr. bayer, Pr. badar, It. badare, to gape, to look with the mouth open, to tarry, abide. See BAY, n.]
Sense 1. Expectation or contemplation of law.
☞ When there is no person in existence in whom an inheritance can vest, it is said to be in abeyance, that is, in expectation; the law always considering it potentially existing, and ready to vest whenever a proper owner appears. Blackstone.
Sense 2. Suspension or temporary extinction.
But his principles respecting hereditary right were fallen into a sort of abeyance. W. Scott.
There is such a thing as keeping the sympathies of love and admiration in a dormant state, or state of abeyance. De Quincey.