GESTANCE — coinage and canonical definition
Coined by Richard Whitney, founder of MIRegistry, L.L.C.
Date of coinage: 13 September 2026

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gestance /ˈdʒɛs.təns/  n.

  The accumulated, tamper-evident record of a participant's
  attributable deeds over time — held by neither the actor nor
  the operator, so it stands as evidence rather than claim.

Etymology:
  From Latin "gesta," things done / deeds (from "gerere," to
  carry on, to perform; the root beneath "res gestae," the deeds
  themselves), plus "-ance," a state or accumulated result.
  Compare "provenance" (where a thing came from) and
  "performance" (how it acted). Gestance is what it has actually
  done.

Distinction:
  Reputation is what others think of a participant.
  Gestance is what the participant did.

  Authentication tells you who. Gestance tells you whether what
  they're doing fits what that participant has actually done.

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The gestance family:

  gest      n.        A single recorded deed. (Revived; archaic
                      "a deed or exploit," the root of "jest.")
  gesting   n., v.    The act of recording deeds into a gestance.
                      (Revived Middle English form.)
  gestance  n.        The accumulated, tamper-evident record of a
                      participant's deeds over time. (Coined.)
  gestive   adj.      Of or pertaining to gestance; evidentiary
                      of deeds. (Coined.)
  gested    adj.      Recorded as a deed; entered into a
                      gestance. (Coined.)
  gestless  adj.      Having no gestance — a participant with no
                      recorded deeds yet. (Coined.)
  gestor    n.        The participant whose deeds a gestance
                      records. (Coined.)

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This file is the canonical record of the coinage. Its existence
at or before the timestamp anchored in the accompanying
gestance.txt.ots proof (OpenTimestamps / Bitcoin) is independent,
tamper-evident, and verifiable by anyone with no stake in the
answer.