spence

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Spence^¹

/ˈspɛns/

Rhymes with -ɛns

proper noun Spences

countable, uncountable A surname.
countable, uncountable Short form of the male given name Spencer.
countable, uncountable A suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
countable, uncountable A locality in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia.
countable, uncountable A ghost town in Magnetawan township, Parry Sound District, Ontario, Canada.

spence^²

Where it comes from

From Middle English spence, spense, borrowed from Middle French despense, from Medieval Latin dīspēnsa, noun use of feminine of Latin dīspēnsus, past participle of dīspendere (“weigh out”).

noun spences · spense

UK, dated, dialectal A buttery or pantry. 'I expect it was a dog which got into the spence and licked up the junket and ate the biscuits,' put in the old turf-cutter. 'I would lock and bar the spence-door, if I were you, the next time I put such nice things in there.'

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: hull, spencer, pantry, larder, buttery, butlery, storeroom, storehouse, cupboard, stockroom, meat-safe, commissary, cellar, spurgeon, vince, elspie

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MLA

"spence." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/spence. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

spence. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/spence

Chicago

"spence." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/spence.

BibTeX

@misc{spence_2026,
  title = {spence},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/spence},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}