Etymologically
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acceptance

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 13:23. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /əkˈsɛp.təns/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French acceptance (Anglo-French), from accepter (“to accept”) (see accept) and -ance.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The act of accepting, or the fact of being accepted: the 1570s in Etymonline, 1596 in the OED;[2][5] MWU dates it to about 1530.[3]

Semantic evolution

The earlier word was acception (late 14th century), common until about 1700, and acceptation was used from the early 15th century.[2] Favourable reception or approval of persons and things is from the late 16th century,[5] and the sense in which a word is accepted from the early 18th century.[5] In commerce, an agreement to pay a bill of exchange is a technical sense,[6][7] and in psychology, coming to terms with a situation is a modern use.[6][7]

Timeline

  • c. 1530 – first use (MWU).[3]
  • 1596 – the act of accepting.[5]
  • 1649 – the state of being accepted.[5]
  • before 1716 – the sense of a word.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The act of agreeing to receive or undertake something offered.
  2. The fact of being received as adequate or suitable, or of being admitted into a group.
  3. Agreement with or belief in an idea or explanation.
  4. Willingness to tolerate a difficult situation.

Word family

  • nonacceptance
  • reacceptance
  • unacceptance
  • self-acceptance
  • preacceptance
  • banker's acceptance
  • trade acceptance

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins