accord

Etymology

The verb is inherited from Middle English accorden, late Old English acordan,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French acorder (“to reconcile, agree”),^[4][5][6] also acorder,^[3][7] from Vulgar Latin *accordō (“to bring into agreement”).^[8][5][9] The Vulgar Latin verb was made from ad- (“to”) and cor (“heart”),^[8][6][5] on the pattern of concordō (“to agree”) and discordō (“to disagree”),^[8][10][3] so that it meant literally "heart to heart".^[11][5] Weekley instead derived it from chorda (“a harp string”), influenced in sense by the word for heart.^[12] The Latin noun goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ḱerd- (“heart”).^[6][5] The noun is acord, from acort, a noun formed from the French verb.^[4][5][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a verb, to reconcile people in conflict, and to agree with someone: both in the Laud manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, in the annal for 1120.^[4][13] Barnhart dates the verb to before 1121, Ayto to 1123.^[8][11] The noun, agreement or harmony between people, appears about 1275, in The Owl and the Nightingale.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

In Anglo-Norman the verb was already used of reconciling people and of tuning voices or instruments together.^[4][7] In Middle English it soon covered agreeing on a matter, granting a request (c. 1180) and things being in harmony with each other (1340).^[4] The noun likewise came to mean a formal agreement or treaty (c. 1300), harmony in music (a1387) and consent (a1393).^[4] The phrase of one's own accord, voluntarily, is recorded from the mid 15th century, earlier also with by.^[5][4][12] In law, accord from 1579 meant an agreement to accept something in place of a right of action, later in accord and satisfaction.^[4] Barnhart notes that the spelling with double c became fixed in the 15th century.^[14] In the 19th century the word gave accordion (1829).^[12] In Scots and in Worcestershire and Herefordshire dialect, accord kept the plain sense "to agree".^[15]

Timeline

• 1120 – verb, to reconcile; to agree (Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).^[4]
• c. 1180 – verb, to grant or bestow.^[4]
• c. 1275 – noun, agreement between people, and with one accord.^[4]
• c. 1300 – noun, a formal agreement or treaty.^[4]
• 1340 – verb, of things, to be in harmony.^[4]
• a1387 – noun, musical harmony.^[4]
• mid 15th century – of one's own accord.^[5][4]
• 1579 – (law) an agreement in settlement of a claim.^[4]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To give or grant something, especially status, respect or a right: The visitors were accorded a warm welcome.
2. To be in harmony or agreement; to correspond, usually followed by with.
3. (archaic) To bring into agreement; to reconcile.

Noun

1. Agreement or harmony of opinion, will or action; conformity, especially in the phrase in accord with.
2. An official agreement or treaty, especially between countries.
3. of one's own accord: voluntarily, without being asked.
4. with one accord: all together, unanimously.
5. (law) An agreement to accept something in settlement of a claim, in accord and satisfaction.
6. (music) A pleasing combination of sounds; harmony.

Word family

• accordable
• accorder
• accordant
• accordance
• according
• accordingly
• unaccorded

Related words

• chord
• concord
• discord
• accordion
• cordial
• heart

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
8. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
9. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
10. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ a b Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
12. ^ a b c Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
13. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
14. ^ Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
15. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)