Suppliance

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An earnest, humble request made to someone in authority ; the act of furnishing or providing what is needed
2. A humble plea or petition for help ; the process of giving or furnishing goods and provisions to those in need
3. Earnest begging for a favour or mercy ; the providing or furnishing of necessary materials and resources

Etymology: The noun "suppliance" is a close relative of "suppliant," the adjective and noun for someone who begs humbly. Its ancestry runs through Latin "supplicare," meaning to kneel or beg, built from "sub" (under) and "plicare" (to fold), so the image is of someone bending the knee before a superior. The same root gives "supplicate" and "supplication," all tied to that posture of humble appeal. Because it sits so close to "suppliant," the noun carries the same sense of kneeling petition. Its formation is simple, adding the familiar noun ending to the stem of the older word, so the meaning stays fixed on earnest, humble requesting rather than on any sense of supplying goods or provisions. Readers who first meet it may mistake it for a noun from "supply," but the source ties it to "suppliant" instead.

Synonyms: supplication, petition