assignation

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English assignacioun,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French assignacion^[4][3][5] and directly borrowed from Latin assignātiō (“an assigning, allotment”),^[2][6][3] a noun of action from assignō (“to mark out, allot by sign, assign”),^[3][4][5] formed from ad- (“to”) and signō (“to make a sign”), from signum (“identifying mark, sign”).^[3] The Anglo-Norman word is recorded from the late 13th century, already with the senses of an appointment to an office, an allotment of funds and a fixed date or appointment.^[7] It is thus related to assign, assignment and sign.^[4][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

An authoritative appointment or order: before 1400, in the Coventry Mysteries.^[4] Etymonline dates the word to the early 14th century,^[3] and the Shorter Oxford to late Middle English.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The first senses were administrative: an order, an appointment to office (1432–1656),^[4][8] and the allotment of funds or revenue, such as a dower or a salary,^[2][9] which the OED dates from 1489 to 1747.^[4] The legal transfer of a right or property followed in 1579,^[4][3] and the general sense of allotment or apportionment in 1600.^[4] From 1660 it meant the appointment of a time and place to meet,^[4] and Etymonline notes that it was used especially of love affairs.^[3] Johnson (1755) gave this sense first, "used generally of love appointments".^[10] Modern dictionaries define it as a secret or forbidden meeting, especially between lovers,^[11][12] and the assignation house, recorded by Etymonline from 1849 and by the OED from 1870, was a euphemism for a brothel.^[3][4] Through French it also meant paper money, an assignat (1704), and a summons to appear in court (1884).^[4]

Timeline

• before 1400 – an authoritative appointment or order (obsolete by 1605).^[4]
• 1432 – appointment to an office (obsolete by 1656).^[4]
• 1433 – allotment of funds; the OED dates the setting apart of revenue to meet a claim from 1489.^[2][4]
• 1579 – the legal transfer of a right or property.^[4][3]
• 1600 – allotment, apportionment.^[4]
• 1660 – an appointment of a time and place to meet; a tryst.^[4]
• 1704 – paper currency.^[4]
• 1849 – assignation house, a brothel.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A secret or illicit arrangement to meet, especially between lovers; a tryst: Their assignations took place in a quiet hotel by the river.^[11][12][4]
2. The act of assigning; allotment or apportionment.^[11][12][4]
3. (law) The transfer of a right or property to another; assignment, especially in Scots law.^[11][12][4]
4. (obsolete, 1400–1605) An authoritative order or command.^[12][4][8]
5. (obsolete, 1432–1656) An appointment to an office.^[4][8]
6. (obsolete, 1489–1747) The setting apart of revenue to meet a claim; an allowance or pension.^[12][4][8]

Word family

• assignational
• house of assignation

Related words

• assign
• assignment
• sign
• signal

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
8. ^ 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
9. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
12. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster