approbation

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English approbacioun,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French aprobacion (“approval”)^[2][5] and directly borrowed from Latin approbātiō (“an approval”),^[2][5][4] from approbō (“to assent to as good”),^[2][5][6] from ad- (“to”) and probō (“to try, test”), from probus (“honest, genuine”).^[2] The OED and Hoad give French as the immediate source, and Merriam-Webster Unabridged specifies Middle French.^[7][6][3] The Anglo-Norman approbacion, approval or sanction, is recorded from 1360.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The proving of something true, confirmation, proof: 1393, in Gower's Confessio Amantis.^[7][5] The Middle English Dictionary reads the Gower passage as proven effectiveness or excellence.^[4][2] Etymonline dates the sense of approval to the early 15th century.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The word began as an act of proof and moved toward the act of approving.^[7] The sense of confirmation lasted until 1718.^[7][9] A formal endorsement is in the Rolls of Parliament of 1472–73, beside ratifications and confirmations,^[4] and the sense of authoritatively declaring something good or true has its first OED record in 1502.^[7] Pleasure or satisfaction, felt or expressed, is added in 1548, in the English translation of Erasmus by Udall and others,^[7] and Collins now lists commendation first.^[10] Shakespeare also used the word for probation, the trial period of a person entering a convent, in Measure for Measure, a use that had died out by the mid 17th century.^[7][9] Johnson (1755) listed the act of approving, the liking of a thing, and attestation or support.^[11] On approbation, on approval, is recorded from 1880.^[7] In Rutland the word meant an authoritative opinion, as when a doctor was sent for to give his approbation of a patient.^[12]

Timeline

• 1393 – the proving of something true, confirmation (obsolete by 1718).^[7]
• 1472–73 – a formal endorsement, in the Rolls of Parliament.^[4] The OED's first record of authoritative sanction is from 1502.^[7]
• 1548 – approval felt or expressed, satisfaction.^[7]
• before 1616 – probation, trial (obsolete by 1654).^[7]
• 1880 – on approbation, on approval.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. Approval or praise, felt or expressed: The audience murmured its approbation.^[10][3][7]
2. Formal or official approval; sanction: The plan went ahead with the approbation of the bishop.^[10][3][7]
3. Official confirmation that someone is authorized to act as a cleric.^[3]
4. on approbation: on approval.^[7][9]
5. (obsolete, 1393–1718) proof or confirmation.^{[7][9][3][10]}
6. (obsolete, before 1616–1654) probation or trial.^[7][9]

Word family

• approbatory

Related words

• appro
• approbate
• approbative
• approve
• approval
• prove

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
5. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
9. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
12. ^ 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)