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Many people in my area use the word "agreeance" and I find it irksome. Dictionary.com seems to be in agreement with me (har har): http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/agreeance

Main Entry: agreeance
Part of Speech: n
Definition: the act of agreeing
Example: Usage of the site constitutes agreeance with these terms.
Usage: considered obsolete and a bastardization of 'agreement'

Do you use it? Do you think it's acceptable or obsolete?

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I'm going to start pushing the use of this word again. I've heard it around Texas. I say the more words, the merrier :) –  user6535 Mar 25 '11 at 16:52
I had never heard this so-called word until a couple of years ago. My husband's ex-wife had said it once. Just today I heard a nurse say it to a patient and I had a silent chuckle. I was watching Judge Judy last year and a litigant used agreeance and the judge quickly advised them that this is not a word. I am in agreeance with the Judge and will avoid using agreeance in place of agreement. –  user6775 Apr 1 '11 at 5:07
I always thought agreeance was not a valid word. I just heard someone use it in a meeting and decided to look it up — I refuse to use it! –  user5209 Apr 1 '11 at 9:53

3 Answers 3

That's an interesting question. Even though the word "agreeance" appears in some dictionaries as a synonym for "agreement", it is in the error list of the book "Common Errors in English Usage":


When you agree with someone you are in agreement.

That is on page 8 of the PDF sample of the book.

To be on the safe side, I will keep using "agreement".

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right. Agreeance is nonstandard. –  Joel Spolsky Sep 17 '10 at 3:12
Always remember that dictionaries are descriptive, not prescriptive -- unless they declare themselves to be otherwise (like Noah Webster's "let's change all the spellings" offering). –  bye Feb 18 '11 at 16:01
Right, so you would use agreeance as such: "This is an agreeance: I am agreeing with you in agreement." But even my spellchecker chokes on it; I would avoid using it. –  MrHen Mar 25 '11 at 17:55

I don't think that "agreeance" is a commonly accepted word. That's not to say that it's not used in certain circles or regions, but I don't remember that I have ever heard it or read it, and it strikes me as odd. I would never use it myself. When you say "people in my area" do you mean a geographic area or a particular occupation or discipline? I'm curious about this group that uses the word.

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I live in a suburb of Houston and used to work for the school district. I've heard it coming mostly from people on the administration end of things... "We need to be in agreeance on this before we can move on." –  Sandy Sep 18 '10 at 17:15

Agreeance comes from the Old French agréance and would therefore be expected to be used in areas with (former) French influence. It is also used in New Zealand. But it is commonly viewed as outdated and even wrong.

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It has a closer connection to Scotch (or Scottish, if you find the proper Scotch offensive) Law. It still originates in Old French, but it came into English usage through Law French, like Assize, Oyer and Terminer, and so forth did. –  bye Feb 18 '11 at 18:29

protected by RegDwigнt Apr 1 '11 at 9:52


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