Meanings
spence1
plural spences · alternative spense
- UKdateddialectalA 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.'
1906, Enys Tregarthen, North Cornwall Fairies and Legends, page 77
Spence2
plural Spences
- countableuncountableA surname.
- countableuncountableShort form of the male given name Spencer.
- countableuncountableA suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
- countableuncountableA locality in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia.
- countableuncountableA ghost town in Magnetawan township, Parry Sound District, Ontario, Canada.
Origin
- Latindīspēnsus
- Medieval Latindīspēnsa
- Middle Frenchdespense
- Middle Englishspence
- Englishspence
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”).
More words from Middle English, Middle French, Medieval Latin
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with spence
Cite this entry
spence. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spence
“spence.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spence. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “spence,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spence.
Source: spence on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.