1580s, from indignant + -ance or else from Medieval Latin indignantia. Indignancy is attested from 1778.
Entries linking to indignance
indignant adj.
1580s, from Latin indignantem (nominative indignans) "impatient, reluctant, indignant," present participle of indignari "to be displeased at, be offended, resent, deem unworthy," from indignus "unworthy," from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + dignus "worth (n.), worthy, proper, fitting," from PIE *dek-no-, suffixed form of root *dek- "to take, accept." Related: Indignantly.
-ance
word-forming element attached to verbs to form abstract nouns of process or fact (convergence from converge), or of state or quality (absence from absent); ultimately from Latin -antia and -entia, which depended on the vowel in the stem word, from PIE *-nt-, adjectival suffix.
Latin present-participle endings for verbs stems in -a- were distinguished from those in -i- and -e-. Hence Modern English protestant, opponent, obedient from Latin protestare, opponere, obedire.
As Old French evolved from Latin, these were leveled to -ance, but later French borrowings from Latin (some of them subsequently passed to English) used the appropriate Latin form of the ending, as did words borrowed by English directly from Latin (diligence,absence).
English thus inherited a confused mass of words from French (crescent/croissant), and further confused it since c. 1500 by restoring -ence selectively in some forms of these words to conform with Latin. Thus dependant, but independence, etc.
*dek-
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to take, accept."
It forms all or part of: condign; dainty; decent; decor; decorate; decorous; deign; dignify; dignity; diplodocus; disciple; discipline; disdain; docent; Docetism; docile; docimacy; doctor; doctrine; document; dogma; dogmatic; doxology; heterodox; indignance; indignant; indignation; indignity; orthodox; paradox; synecdoche.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit daśasyati "shows honor, is gracious," dacati "makes offerings, bestows;" Greek dokein "to appear, seem, think," dekhesthai "to accept;" Latin decere "to be fitting or suitable," docere "to teach," decus "grace, ornament."