Observance - observation

These two nouns are derived from the verb 'to observe'.

• Observation is the noun associated with the first two senses of the verb listed at observe.
  • As a non-count noun, it means 'the skill of noticing', or 'the general noticing nature of a person': "Observation teaches us that swallows are not to be seen during the British winter", or "Her powers of observation were acute."
  • The countable noun may be an occasion on which something was noticed, 'a sighting': "An observation of the moon at 11:38 last night showed a strange clouded effect"; "An observation of enemy ships was made". Otherwise - like remark - an observation is a comment or opinion. Some older academic writing, possibly like older academics, uses Observations as the title of some kinds of comments, as in Immanuel Kant's Observations On The Feeling Of The Beautiful And Sublime (1764).

• Observance is the noun associated with the third sense of the verb. It means 'obedience to or compliance with (a law, rule, custom, or tradition)': "His conscientious observance of the speed limit often irritated other motorists."
  • In terms of Christian culture, it is most frequently used of 'keeping the Sabbath': that is, not doing any work, nor requiring others to work, on the Lord's Day, or Sunday. There is a pressure group called 'Day One', previously known as 'The Lord's Day Observance Society', which "campaigns for Sunday to be a day of worship and rest".

Listed by the Fowler brothers as a malaprop in their second group, these two words with identical origins should not be muddled.