submission

Pronunciation

• IPA: /səbˈmɪʃən/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English submissioun, borrowed from Old French submission and directly from Latin submissiō, submissiōnem, a letting down, lowering, yielding,^[2][3] from submissus, past participle of submittere, to put under, let down, yield (see submit).^[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

An act of submitting, in Chaucer, about 1390 in Barnhart;^[2] Etymonline dates the sense of referring a matter to a third party for decision to the late 14th century,^[3] and the OED's legal sense, agreement to abide by a decision, to 1411.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Humble obedience is attested by the mid-15th century (about 1449 in the OED),^[3][5] and submission to an authority or conquering power from 1482.^[5] Acts of deference or homage are from 1617,^[5] and the phrase with submission, subject to correction, from 1667.^[5] The act of submitting a matter to someone for decision in wider use is from 1911,^[5] and in law an advocate's theory of a case from 1922.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1390 – an act of submitting.^[2]
• 1411 – agreement to abide by a decision (law).^[5]
• c. 1449 – submissiveness.^[5]
• 1482 – yielding to authority.^[5]
• 1911 – submitting for consideration.^[5]
• 1922 – an advocate's argument.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act of yielding to the power or authority of another, or the state of having done so.
2. The quality of being submissive; meekness.
3. The act of submitting something for consideration, or the thing submitted, such as a proposal.
4. (law) An argument put forward by counsel, or an agreement to refer a dispute to arbitration.

Word family

• nonsubmission
• presubmission
• resubmission

Related words

• submit
• submissive
• commission
• mission

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d 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 i j k l Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press