confession

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kənˈfɛʃən/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English confessioun, borrowed from Middle French confession,^[2][3] from Latin cōnfessiō (“confession, acknowledgement”),^[2][3][4] from the past participle of cōnfiteor (“to acknowledge”) (see confess),^[2][4] from com- and fateor (“to admit”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The confessing of sins to a priest: 1377 in the OED, the late 14th century in Etymonline,^[5][2] originally as one of the four parts of the sacrament of penance.^[2] Old English words for it were andettung and scriftspræc.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Acknowledgement of a statement or claim is from about 1380,^[5] and the matter confessed from the mid-15th century.^[2][5] A formulary acknowledging sinfulness, as in the prayer book, is from 1535,^[5] and a formal statement of the articles of a faith from the 16th century.^[2][5] In law, an acknowledgement before an authority is from 1574,^[5] while the general disclosure of anything one is ashamed to reveal dates from 1602.^[5]

Timeline

• 1377 – confession to a priest.^[5]
• c. 1380 – an admission.^[5]
• mid-15th century – the thing confessed.^[2]
• 1574 – legal confession.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An admission of having done wrong, especially a statement by an accused person acknowledging guilt.
2. In some Christian churches, the confessing of one's sins to a priest for absolution.
3. Something confessed.
4. A formal declaration of religious belief, or the church holding it.

Word family

• confessional

Related words

• confess
• confessor
• profess

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press