bienséance

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French bienséance.

Noun

bienséance (uncountable)

1. Propriety, decorum.
   • 1817 December 31 (indicated as 1818), [Walter Scott], chapter I, in Rob Roy. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co. […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC, page 22:

     In the evening it was very different; and, bred in a country where much attention is paid, or was at least then paid, to bienseance, I was desirous to think for Miss Vernon concerning those points of propriety where her experience did not afford her the means of thinking for herself.

French

Etymology

From bienséant +‎ -ance.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bjɛ̃.se.ɑ̃s/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑ̃s

Noun

bienséance f (plural bienséances)

1. propriety

   Synonym: convenance

   Antonym: inconvenance

Further reading

• “bienséance”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.