abeyance

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The Word of the Day for November 20 is: 

abeyance   \uh-BAY-unss\   noun
     1 : a lapse in succession during which there is no person 
in whom a title is vested 
    *2 : temporary inactivity : suspension 

Example sentence:
     When Joe lost his job, house-hunting had to be put in 
abeyance until he could secure a new position.

Did you know?
     "Abeyance" has something in common with "yawn." 
Today, "yawn" implies sleep or boredom, but years ago it could 
also signify longing or desire ("Full many men know I that yawn 
and gape after some fat and rich benefice" -- Thomas Hoccleve, 
1420). The Old French word for "yawn" was "baer," which joined 
the prefix "a-" ("in a state or condition of") to form "abaer," 
a verb meaning "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. But when we adopted "abeyance" into English in the 
16th century, we applied 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.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.