Etymologically
Log in

confess

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 21:07. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /kənˈfɛs/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English confessen, borrowed from Old French confesser,[2][3][4] from Vulgar Latin *cōnfessō, a verb formed on Latin cōnfessus, the past participle of cōnfiteor (“to acknowledge, avow”),[5][6][7] from com- (intensive) and fateor (“to admit, declare”),[5][2][8] which is related to for (“to speak”).[5][9][7] In Anglo-Norman the verb is found from the early 13th century.[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

To admit something kept secret because it was damaging, such as a fault or crime: about 1377 to 1378, in a version of Piers Plowman,[8][3] and in Chaucer's Squire's Tale (c. 1386).[3]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the verb covered both admitting a fault and the religious act of telling one's sins to a priest, and a priest was said to confess or shrive the penitent.[9][4] From 1509 it also meant to declare one's faith, and to acknowledge a person or thing from 1526, a sense behind confessor, one who avowed his religion under persecution, as in Edward the Confessor.[3][11] The softer "I confess" that only introduces an opinion is found from 1569, and confess to a fault from 1771.[3] In Scots a bottle was said to confess when it was drained to the last drop.[12]

Timeline

  • c. 1377 – to admit a fault or secret.[3][8]
  • c. 1450 – to concede a claim.[3]
  • 1509 – to avow as an article of faith.[3]
  • 1569 – I confess introducing an opinion.[3]
  • 1646 – figurative, to reveal or show, in poetry.[3]
  • 1771 – confess to a charge or weakness.[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To admit a fault, crime or something one is ashamed of: He confessed to taking the keys.
  2. To acknowledge that something is true, often reluctantly: I confess I never liked the place.
  3. (Christianity) To declare one's sins to God or a priest to receive absolution; of a priest, to hear someone's confession.
  4. To declare one's faith in.

Word family

  • confessable
  • confessingly
  • fess
  • self-confessed
  • unconfessing

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b 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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
  7. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  8. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  9. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  10. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  11. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  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)