Webster's English Dictionary

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abeyance

abey.ance \*-'ba--*n(t)s\ n [MF abeance expectation, fr. abaer to desire, 
   fr. a- + bae]r to yawn, fr. ML batare 1: a lapse in succession during which 
   there is no person in whom a title is  vested 2: temporary inactivity : 
   SUSPENSION