Variaunce

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic term for a shift or alteration from an earlier state ; a falling out or dispute between people who cannot agree
2. Old-fashioned word for a change in form or condition ; a quarrel or conflict arising when parties hold opposing views
3. A former spelling meaning a modification or departure from what was before ; an older word for discord, disagreement or open dispute

Etymology: "Variaunce" is a Middle English spelling of "variance," the form the word took when it arrived in English. It is built from "vary" and the suffix "-ance," which turns a verb into a noun naming a state or quality. The spelling itself carries the word's route: Old French supplied a version of it, and Anglo-Latin, the Latin used by English writers and clerks, offered forms such as "variaunce," "veriaunce," and "wariaunce." All of these trace back to the Latin "variantia," from "variare," meaning "to vary." The Middle English forms show how loosely spelling was fixed. The same word appears with a "v" or a "w" at the start and with varying vowels, a reminder that medieval writers spelled by ear and by habit rather than by a single standard. Over the centuries the spelling settled into "variance," and the "-aunce" ending dropped out of use.