-ancesuff.1. State or condition: absorptance.2. Action: continuance.[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin -antia, n. suff. (-ant, -ant + -ia, n. suff.) and from Latin -entia (-ent, -ent + -ia, n. suff.)]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.-ance or -ancysuffix forming nounsindicating an action, state or condition, or quality: hindrance; tenancy; resemblance. Compare -ence[via Old French from Latin -antia; see -ancy]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014-ance a suffix used to form nouns either from adjectives in -ant or from verbs: brilliance; appearance. [Middle English