acclamation

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin acclāmātiō (“a shouting, shout of approval or disapproval”),^[2][3][4][5] and perhaps partly borrowed from Middle French acclamation (“enthusiastic praise, cry of joy”), recorded from 1504.^[2][4][6] The Latin noun is formed on the past participial stem of acclāmō (“to shout at, shout approval or protest”),^[2][3][5] from ad- (“to”) and clāmō (“to cry out”),^[3][5] from Proto-Indo-European *kele- (“to shout”).^[3][5] The English sense of unopposed election is probably modelled on French acclamation, appointment by general assent without a vote (1690).^[2] The noun is older than the English noun acclaim, which dates from 1667, in Milton.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

An enthusiastic expression of praise: 1541, in Thomas Elyot's Image of Governance.^[2][4] Merriam-Webster Unabridged's first date is 1567.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Latin used the word for shouts of disapproval as well as approval,^[2] and English kept both for a time: the hostile sense is recorded from 1602, in Marston, to 1673.^[2] Only the approving one survived, and it was widened from shouting in someone's honour to any enthusiastic praise.^[2] Johnson (1755) gave "shouts of applause; such as those with which a victorious army salutes the general".^[7] From the 16th century the word also meant loud general assent, and this led to by acclamation, by general agreement rather than by a count of votes, which the OED records from 1668.^[2] Etymonline dates the voting use to 1801 and connects it with the French Revolution.^[3] In Canada by acclamation came to mean elected unopposed, with the noun recorded in that sense from 1885.^[2][8] Two technical uses stand beside these: the Latin rhetorical sense, a short closing sentence (from 1561),^[2] and a phrase sung or spoken by a congregation (from before 1630).^[2]

Timeline

• 1541 – an expression of praise or approval.^[2][4] Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates the word to 1567.^[6]
• 1561 – in rhetoric, a brief sentence that emphasizes what comes before it.^[2]
• 1562 – general enthusiastic praise; shouting in someone's honour.^[2]
• 1565 – loud expression of general assent.^[2]
• 1602 – an expression of dislike (obsolete by 1673).^[2]
• before 1630 – in church, a phrase spoken or sung by the congregation.^[2]
• 1668 – by acclamation, by general agreement.^[2]
• 1800 – with acclamation, the same.^[2]
• 1885 – in Canada, election without opposition.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A loud or enthusiastic expression of approval, praise or welcome: The returning crew were met with acclamations.^[8][6][2]
2. An overwhelming vote of approval given by cheering or applause rather than by ballot; especially in by acclamation: The chair was re-elected by acclamation.^[8][6][2]
3. (Canada) An instance of being elected without opposition.^[8][2]
4. In liturgy, a set word or phrase spoken or sung by the congregation.^[2]
5. (rhetoric, historical) A brief, isolated sentence that underlines what came before it; an epiphonema.^[2][9]

Word family

• acclamatory

Related words

• acclaim
• claim
• clamor
• exclamation
• acclimation

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
6. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
8. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
9. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press