| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| purtenance |
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| SYLLABICATION: | pur·te·nance |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  pûr tn- ns |
| NOUN: | An animal's viscera or internal organs, especially the heart, liver, and lungs. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English pertenaunce, purtenaunce, adjunct, from Old French partenance, pertinence, from partenir, to pertain. See pertain.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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