suppliance means supplication; entreaty. It carries an Arena rating of 1416, earned across 12 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, suppliance ranks #1,136 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #3,173 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #3,411 of 42,747 for Qualifying, #4,283 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words.
Why “suppliance” is a great word
Suppliance is the humble or earnest act of pleading, born of acknowledged need. Formed within English from the adjective 'suppliant' (meaning humbly pleading) and the noun-forming suffix '-ance', it was first recorded in use circa 1590–1600. Unlike a 'demand', which asserts an authoritative claim, or a 'supply', which denotes the provision of what is needed, suppliance is the deferential posture of the ask itself. It is the bowed head in a cathedral's shadow, the whispered prayer in an empty chapel, and the letter clutched in a hopeful hand—the quiet, physical grammar of need in a world that may choose not to answer.
noun
- supplication; entreatye.g.“When Greece her knee in suppliance bent” — 1827, Fitz-Greene Halleck, “Marco Bozzaris”, in Alnwick Castle, with Other Poems:
- That which supplies a want; assistance; a gratification; satisfaction.e.g.“he perfume and suppliance of a minute” — c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggar
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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