An alternative or variant spelling of 'regency' (the period of rule by a regent) or a rare term for urgent necessity.
Possibly a variant of 'regency' from Latin 'regens' meaning 'ruling,' or a distorted form of 'egence.' This spelling appears rarely in historical texts and may be a scribal error that became fossilized in certain documents.
The existence of this word shows how spelling wasn't standardized in English until the 18th century—the same concept could be written five different ways and still be understood!
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