obstancy

English

Etymology

From Latin obstantia, from obstans, present participle of obstare. See obstacle.

Noun

obstancy (plural obstancies)

1. (obsolete) opposition; impediment; obstruction
   • 1609, Ben Jonson, Epicœne, or The Silent Woman:

     It doth indeed but irrita reddere sponsalia, annul the contract; after marriage it is of no obstancy.

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “obstancy”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)