Sufficiency \Suf*fi"cien*cy\, n. [L. sufficientia: cf. F. suffisance. See Suffice.]

1. The quality or state of being sufficient, or adequate to the end proposed; adequacy.

His sufficiency is such that he bestows and possesses, his plenty being unexhausted. --Boyle.

2. Qualification for any purpose; ability; capacity.

A substitute or most allowed sufficiency. --Shak.

I am not so confident of my own sufficiency as not willingly to admit the counsel of others. --Eikon Basilike.

3. Adequate substance or means; competence. ``An elegant sufficiency.'' --Thomson.

4. Supply equal to wants; ample stock or fund.

5. Conceit; self-confidence; self-sufficiency.

Sufficiency is a compound of vanity and ignorance. --Sir W. Temple.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)