satisfaction

Pronunciation

• IPA: /sætɪsˈfækʃən/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English satisfaccioun, borrowed from Old French satisfaction and directly borrowed from Latin satisfactio (“a satisfying of a creditor; reparation, amends”),^[2][3][4] from satisfacere, to satisfy, literally to do enough (see satisfy).^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Church, the performance by a penitent of acts set by a priest to atone for sin: before 1300 in the OED, before 1325 in Barnhart, the early 14th century in Etymonline.^[5][2][3]

Semantic evolution

Originally religious, it involved expiatory prayer, self-denial and charity.^[3] Christ's atonement for sin is from about 1380,^[5][6] and the payment in full of a debt from about 1400.^[5] Contentment or appeasement is from the late 14th century, found in the Wycliffe Bible, but was not common before the 16th century;^[3][2] a gratified state of mind is from the late 15th century, in Caxton.^[3] Information that removes doubt is from the 1580s,^[3] and the chance to satisfy one's honour in a duel from 1602.^[5][3]

Timeline

• before 1300 – penance.^[5]
• c. 1380 – Christ's atonement.^[5]
• before 1382 – contentment.^[2]
• c. 1400 – payment of a debt.^[5]
• 1602 – satisfaction by a duel.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Fulfilment of one's wishes or needs, or the pleasure this gives; contentment.
2. Compensation for a wrong or injury.
3. The payment of a debt or fulfilment of an obligation.
4. Convincing evidence or certainty: proved to the court's satisfaction.

Word family

• satisfactional
• satisfactionless
• dissatisfaction
• nonsatisfaction
• undersatisfaction
• self-satisfaction

Related words

• satisfy
• satisfactory
• sated
• satiate
• saturate

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press