Purveyance

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act of delivering merchandise or services for needs
2. The process of providing or distributing goods, especially food or supplies, for use or sale
3. The action of furnishing materials or necessities to meet demands or desires

Etymology: Purveyance began as a legal and royal term. In medieval England, the royal household had the right to requisition food, supplies and transport for the king's court as it travelled, a practice known as purveyance. The word came into English from Anglo-Norman "purveaunce," itself a derivative of the Old French verb "pourveir," meaning to provide or make provision for. Its ancestry therefore lies in the everyday idea of foreseeing and preparing for a need. The English form shows the same history. Middle English spellings such as "purveiaunce" preserve the Anglo-Norman shape, so the word arrived with the French-speaking legal culture that governed the court. Over time the sense narrowed from the general act of providing to the specific supplying of goods, which is the meaning given here. The royal prerogative behind it was resented enough that it became a standing grievance in English public life.

Synonyms: supply, provision