n.
Pronunciation: -s( ə -)l ə n(t)-s ē
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -cies
Date: 15th century
1 : EXCELLENCE especially : outstanding or valuable quality ― usually used in plural <so crammed, as he thinks, with excellencies ― Shakespeare>
2 ― used as a title for high dignitaries of state (as a governor or an ambassador) or church (as a Roman Catholic archbishop or bishop)