postulancy

noun

pos·​tu·​lan·​cy ˈpäs-chə-lən(t)-sē 

plural postulancies

1

: the quality or state of being a postulant

2

: the period during which a person remains a postulant

Examples of postulancy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In a retreat focused on the Virgin Mary held one month before the group was to enter the novitiate, the Mistress of Postulants told them that the 10 months of the postulancy are like the months of pregnancy—that the postulants were, in a very real spiritual sense, gestating Jesus in their wombs. —Rebecca J. Lester, Scientific American, 16 May 2023

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1883, in the meaning defined at sense 1