Plaisaunce

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A state of delight or satisfaction ; an ornamental garden or landscaped space designed for leisure and enjoyment
2. The feeling of being pleased or gratified ; a garden or park laid out for recreation and aesthetic pleasure
3. Enjoyment and contentment ; a cultivated outdoor area intended as a pleasant retreat for amusement

Etymology: Old French "plaisance" came from "plaisir," "to please," which descends from Latin "placere." The ending "-ance" turns the verb into a noun for a state or quality, so the word first named the condition of being pleased, or the delight that produces it. English borrowed it in the Middle English spelling "plaisaunce." Its most concrete sense was a place: a secluded pleasure garden attached to a great house, where people walked and rested. The modern "pleasance" keeps that garden meaning, and it is the form the word settled into.