survivance means survival. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 86 out of 100.
survivance is pronounced /sɚˈvaɪvəns/.
Why “survivance” is a great word
SURVIVANCE — [Noun] The active perpetuation of a culture or identity, defined not by mere existence but by defiant, creative practice against forces of assimilation. From French survivance ("survival, continuation"). In specific Native American contexts, it is sometimes interpreted as a blend of 'survival' and 'resistance', a usage popularized by Anishinaabe writer Gerald Vizenor in the late 20th century. Unlike "survival," which implies bare continuance, or "assimilation," which denotes cultural surrender, survivance is a verb enacted in the present tense. It is the scent of sage on city concrete, the ancestral tongue spoken in a suburban kitchen, the story told that refuses the elegy—a quiet, daily insistence that to endure is to create.
Etymology
From French survivance. In reference to Native Americans, sometimes alternatively interpreted as a blend of survival + resistance.
noun
- Survival.“And what is the space of time to look backward upon, between an early departure and the longest survivance?”
- Survival as a Native American or First Nations person practicing indigenous culture and resisting white European-American hegemony.“One cannot appreciate and experience the power of Native survivance if the stories and memories of our histories are not placed within the context of struggle.”
- The survival of Francophone culture in the face of Anglo-American hegemony.
- Succession to an estate, office etc. of someone who survives the previous holder, as nominated by them; survivorship.“His son had the survivance of the stadtholdership.”