different between relevancy vs pertinence

English

Etymology

From relevant +? -ancy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???l?v?nsi/
• Hyphenation: rel?e?van?cy

Noun

relevancy (countable and uncountable, plural relevancies)

1. (law, Scotland) Sufficiency (of a statement, claim etc.) to carry weight in law; legal pertinence. [from 16th c.]
2. (uncountable) The degree to which a thing is relevant; relevance, applicability. [from 17th c.]
   • 1842, Edgar Allan Poe, ‘The Myster of Marie Rogêt’:

     It is the malpractice of the courts to confine evidence and discussion to the bounds of apparent relevancy.

3. (countable) A relevant thing. [from 19th c.]

Usage notes

• In contemporary usage relevance is about 20 times more common in the US (COCA) and about 50 times more common in the UK (BNC) than relevancy.

Antonyms

• irrelevancy

Related terms

• relevant
• relevance

Translations

Further reading

• relevancy in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French pertinence.

Noun

pertinence (countable and uncountable, plural pertinences)

1. The quality of being pertinent.

Related terms

• pertinent
• pertain

Translations

See also

• pertinency

Anagrams

• penitencer

French

Etymology

From pertinent with the suffix -ence. Cf. also Late Latin pertinentia

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p??.ti.n??s/
• Homophone: pertinences

Noun

pertinence f (plural pertinences)

1. pertinence; relevance.

Further reading

• “pertinence” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).