observance

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. The act or practice of observing or complying with a law, custom, command, or rule.
2. n. The act or custom of keeping or celebrating a holiday or other ritual occasion.
3. n. A customary rite or ceremony.
4. n. The act of watching; observation: "Consider how much intellect was needed in the architect, and how much observance of nature” ( John Ruskin).
5. n. Roman Catholic Church The rule governing a religious order.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. Attention; perception; heed; observation.
2. n. Respectful regard or attention; hence, reverence; homage.
3. n. The act of observing, paying attention to, or following in practice; compliance in practice with the requirements of some law, custom, rule, or injunction; due performance: as, the observance of the sabbath; observance of stipulations; observance of prescribed forms.
4. n. A custom, rule, or thing to be observed, followed, or kept.
5. n. A rite or ceremony; an act performed in token of worship, devotion, or respect.
6. n. Synonyms Observance, Observation. These words start from two different senses of the same root — to pay regard to, and to watch. Observation is watching or notice; observance is keeping, conforming to, or complying with. Observation was formerly used in the sense of observance: as, “the observation of the Sabbath is again commanded” (caption to Ex. xxxi.); “the opinions which he [Milton] has expressed respecting … the observation of the Sabbath might, we think, have caused more just surprise” (Macaulay, Milton); but this use is now obsolescent. It is desirable that the words should be kept distinct.
7. n. Form, Rite, etc. See ceremony.

Wiktionary

1. n. The practice of complying with a law, custom, command or rule
2. n. The custom of celebrating a holiday or similar occasion
3. n. Observation or the act of watching
4. n. religion A rule governing a religious order, especially in the Roman Catholic church

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. The act or practice of observing or noticing with attention; a heeding or keeping with care; performance; -- usually with a sense of strictness and fidelity
2. n. An act, ceremony, or rite, as of worship or respect; especially, a customary act or service of attention; a form; a practice; a rite; a custom.
3. n. obsolete Servile attention; sycophancy.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. the act of noticing or paying attention
2. n. conformity with law or custom or practice etc.
3. n. a formal event performed on a special occasion
4. n. the act of observing; taking a patient look