Absences

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Times when someone is not physically present or away from a place ; instances when a person does not show up for a scheduled event or responsibility
2. Intervals during which a person is missing or absent from a location ; occasions where attendance is lacking for a planned commitment
3. Occurrences of being away from a particular setting ; episodes of not appearing at an expected time or place

Etymology: "Absences" is simply the plural of "absence," and the noun's history is a clean run of Latin verbs. The Latin "absum" meant "to be away," built from "ab" ("from, away from") and "sum" ("to be"), so its present participle "absēns" gave us the adjective "absent" and the abstract noun "absentia." That noun passed through Old French as "absence" or "ausence" and reached Middle English in the form "absence." The Latin root "sum" ("to be") is the same verb behind words like "essence" and "present," so "absence" is literally a being-away: "ab" plus "to be." The plural "absences" simply counts separate instances of that state, whether a person's time away from a place or a lapse in attendance at a planned event.

Synonyms: lack, nonattendance

Antonyms: presence, attendance