indulgence

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English indulgence,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French indulgence^{[4][5][6][7][8]} or directly borrowed from Latin indulgentia (“complaisance, fondness, remission”),^[4][5][6] from indulgēns (“indulgent, kind”), the present participle of indulgeō (“to be kind, yield, concede”).^[5][6][7] Merriam-Webster derives the Church sense through Middle French from Medieval Latin, and the others from Latin.^[3] In Anglo-Norman it is recorded from 1212, for leniency, pardon of sin, a remission of punishment granted by the Church, and gratification.^[9] The origin of the Latin verb is uncertain.^[5][10][7] Etymonline sees in it a compound whose second element may be from Proto-Indo-European *dlegh- (“to engage oneself, be or become fixed”), with a first element meaning either "in" or "not".^[5] Klein and Ayto instead compare words for "long", such as Ancient Greek δολιχός (dolikhós) and related words in Sanskrit and Russian, so that the verb may first have meant to be patient or to allow long enough.^[6][11] Indulge is a back-formation from the noun, or from the Latin verb, of the 1630s.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Roman Catholic Church, a remission of the punishment still due for sin after absolution: 1362, in Langland's Piers Plowman.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

In the 1377 text of Piers Plowman the word also meant remission of sin itself, a use given up by 1430.^[4] The general sense, gratifying another person's wishes or treating them with lenient forbearance, follows in the Wycliffite Bible (before 1382),^[4][5] and an indulgence as a particular favour or privilege granted is in Shakespeare's Henry VI, Part 1 (before 1616).^[4] Yielding to one's own inclinations, what is now called self-indulgence, appears in 1638,^[4][5] and a habit or act of self-gratification in 1649.^[4] Etymonline notes that the sale of indulgences, sometimes merely to raise money, was widely seen as corrupt, and that one in 1517 helped to set off the Protestant revolt in Germany.^[5] In British history the word names the grants of religious liberty to Nonconformists under Charles II and James II, given as favours rather than rights (the Declaration of Indulgence, 1673).^[5][4][12] In commerce it is an extension of the time allowed for paying a bill or debt (1827).^[4][12] The verb, to grant as a favour (1599, Nashe), is obsolete; in the Catholic sense, to attach an indulgence to a prayer or object, it dates from 1866, in Newman.^[4][13]

Timeline

• 1362 – a remission of the punishment due for sin.^[4]
• 1377 – remission of sin (obsolete by 1430).^[4]
• before 1382 – lenient treatment; gratifying another's wishes.^[4]
• 1599 – verb, to grant as a favour (obsolete).^[4][13]
• before 1616 – a favour or privilege granted.^[4]
• 1638 – yielding to one's own inclinations.^[4][5]
• 1673 – a grant of religious liberties to Nonconformists.^[4]
• 1827 – an extension of time for payment.^[4]
• 1866 – verb, to attach an indulgence to a prayer or object.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of indulging oneself or another; giving in to desires: Dessert after every meal had become an indulgence he could not resist.^[12][4][3]
2. Something indulged in; a luxury or treat.^[12][4]
3. Lenient or tolerant treatment; forbearance.^[12][3][4]
4. A favour or privilege granted.^[12][4]
5. In the Roman Catholic Church, a remission of the temporal punishment still due for sins whose guilt has been forgiven.^[12][3][4]
6. In commerce, an extension of the time allowed for paying a debt.^[12][4]
7. In British history, a royal grant of religious freedom to Nonconformists and Catholics, as under Charles II and James II.^[12][4]

Verb

1. In the Roman Catholic Church, to attach an indulgence to a prayer, act or object.^[3][4][13]

Word family

• nonindulgence
• self-indulgence
• plenary indulgence

Related words

• indulge
• indulgent
• indult

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
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 y z 27 28 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b c Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
10. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
12. ^ a b c d e f g h i Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
13. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press