Etymologically
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approval

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /əˈpruː.vəl/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English approve + -al.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The act of approving, sanction: 1613 in MWU and the early 17th century in the Shorter Oxford,[5][3] the 1680s in Etymonline and 1690 in the OED.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

According to the OED, quoted by Etymonline, it was rare before 1800 and then replaced the older approvance, which is attested by the 1590s and came from French.[2] On approval, of goods sent to a customer to be returned if not wanted, is from 1870.[6][3]

Timeline

  • 1613 – first known use.[5]
  • 1690 – the action of approving.[6]
  • 1870 – on approval.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The feeling that someone or something is good or right; praise.
  2. Official permission or agreement; sanction.
  3. on approval: of goods, to be returned if the buyer does not want them.

Word family

  • disapproval
  • nonapproval
  • preapproval
  • reapproval

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press