cheance

Middle English

Noun

cheance

1. Alternative form of chaunce

Old French

Alternative forms

• chaance, chance, chaiance, cheanse, cheanz
• cheaunce, chaaunce, chaunce, chauns
• caanche, canche, keanche
• caance, cance

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *cadentia (“falling”), from Latin cadēns, from cadō (“fall”).

Pronunciation

• (classical) IPA^(key): /tʃəˈantsə/, /tʃa-/, (northern) /kəˈantʃə/, /ka-/, /-tsə/
• (late) IPA^(key): /ˈʃansə/, (northern) /ˈkanʃə/, /ˈkau̯-/, /-sə/, (Anglo-Norman hybrid?) /ˈtʃau̯nsə/

Noun

cheance oblique singular, f (oblique plural cheances, nominative singular cheance, nominative plural cheances)

1. fall, drop, plunge
2. chance; fate
3. (rare) a throw of a die

Related terms

• cheoir

Descendants

• French: chance (see there for further descendants)
• Norman: caunche
• Picard: canche
• Walloon: tchance
• → Middle Dutch: canse
  • Dutch: kans
• → Middle English: chaunce, chance, chanse, chauns, chaunse, chaunche, cheance, cheaunce, cheiance, schaunce; chanse, chaunsse, chawnce
  • English: chance (archaic chaunce)
    • → Japanese: チャンス
  • Scots: chance

References

• cheance on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub
• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (cheance, supplement)