conciliatory

Etymology

Most dictionaries take it as formed from English conciliate + -ory.^[2][3][4][5] The OED instead treats it as a borrowing of a Latin type *conciliātōrius, from Latin conciliātor (“one who conciliates”), with the modern French equivalent conciliatoire.^[6] The verb conciliate is from conciliō (“to bring together, unite, make friendly”), from concilium (“a meeting, gathering”),^[2][6][7] the source of council.^[5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tending or meant to conciliate, showing a wish to make peace: 1576, in A. Fleming's translation of Macropedius in his Panoplie of Epistles.^[6] Etymonline dates it to the 1570s,^[2] and Dictionary.com to 1570–80.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The adjective appeared soon after conciliate (1545) and conciliator (1575),^[6] and its sense has stayed close to that of the verb.^[6][8] Johnson (1755) defined it narrowly as relating to reconciliation.^[9] A noun use, a measure meant to conciliate, is recorded from 1778.^[6] The synonym conciliative is attested from 1817.^[2]

Timeline

• 1576 – tending to conciliate.^[6]
• 1778 – noun, a conciliatory measure.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Meant to placate or reconcile; showing a wish to end a quarrel or gain goodwill: After the vote the minister struck a conciliatory tone.^[10][8][6]

Word family

• conciliatorily
• conciliatoriness
• nonconciliatory

Related words

• conciliate
• conciliation
• conciliator
• conciliative
• council
• reconcile

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
10. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins