Abeyance

 WORD OF THE DAY

abeyance / noun / uh-BAY-unss

Definition
1a: a state of temporary inactivity
1b: suspension —used chiefly in the phrase in abeyance
2: a lapse in succession during which there is no person in whom a title is vested

Examples
"The consensus of analysts is that the crisis may be in abeyance for the moment, but is far from over."
— Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Dec. 2021

Three weeks later, Dayspring and his business associates addressed the Board of Supervisors during the public comment period, urging the county to again extend the abeyance.
— Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2021

Did You Know?
Abeyance comes from Old French baer, meaning "to have the mouth wide open," which was joined with the prefix a- to form abaer, a verb meaning "to open wide," and, in later Anglo-French usage, "to expect or await."
There followed Anglo-French abeyance, which referred to a state of expectation—specifically, a person's expectation of inheriting a title or property.
The word, in English, was then applied for the expectation to the property itself: a property or title "in abeyance" is in temporary limbo, waiting to be claimed by a rightful heir or owner.