An archaic or obsolete term for appearance; the act or state of appearing or becoming visible. A very old spelling variant rarely used in modern English.
From Old French 'aparence,' from Latin 'apparentia.' This is an obsolete form that modern English replaced with 'appearance.' The shift from -ence to -ance spellings reflects changes in how English speakers pronounced and standardized French loanwords.
Words like 'apparence' are historical ghosts—they show us that English spelling wasn't always standardized. Checking a 1600s book reveals dozens of spelling variants we'd mark wrong today.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.