utterance

Etymology 1

From Middle English utteraunce, outeraunce; equivalent to utter + -ance.

noun

1. An act of uttering.
   July 1857, Thomas Hill, "The Imagination in Mathematics", in The North American Review Mathematics and Poetry are … the utterance of the same power of imagination, only that in the one case it is addressed to the head, in the other, to the heart.
2. Something spoken.
   To know how one should express oneself in saying or judging that there really are falsehoods without getting caught up in contradiction by such an utterance: that's extremely difficult, Theaetetus. 2005, Plato, translated by Lesley Brown, Sophist, page 237a
3. The ability to speak.
4. A manner of speaking.
   He has a good utterance.
5. (obsolete) A sale made by offering to the public.
   The clothemakers[…] had great profite and good utterance of the sayd cloth a. 1564, King Edward IV of England, a royal decree
6. (obsolete) An act of putting in circulation.
   the utterance of false coin, or of forged notes

Etymology 2

From Middle English outraunce, utteraunce, from Old French outrance (see outrance).

noun

1. (literary, archaic) The utmost extremity, especially of a fight; bodily harm or death.
   Besides, For the most part, the Combate was continued or ended at the discretion of the Prince, or his Substitutes, which also did most commonly part the Duellists, and not suffer them to proceed to the utterance, but pronounced them both good and approved Cavaliers upon the place, which was a token of their prudent affection to preserve noble spirits for better uses. 1659, Thomas Pestell, “A Collection of several mens Discourses and Opinions concerning Duels”, in Sermons and devotions old and new, page 326