accepter French · revision 17315

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1250|origins=la capiō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ak.sɛp.te/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''accepter'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Anglo-Norman [[m|xno|accepter]], also spelled ''acceptier'' and ''accepteer''.^(AND)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|acceptō|t=to receive; to accept]], a frequentative of [[m|la|accipiō|t=to receive, welcome]].^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|24, 71a) Rey explains it as formed on the participle [[m|la|acceptus]], and the base verb as a compound of [[m|la|ad-]] and [[m|la|capiō|t=to take]], the verb behind [[captif]] and [[capter]].^(DHLF 1992) French took over the latest Latin sense, “to consent to”, which the word had acquired in Late Latin.^(DHLF 1992) Wiktionary calls it a doublet of [[acheter]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Cognate with [[pro|acceptar]], [[es|aceptar]] and [[it|accettare]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first recorded about 1250, in religious use, Bloch and Wartburg date it to 1317, a legal use.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Littré's earliest quotation, from the 14th-century poem on Du Guesclin, has it of [[m|en|agree|alt=agreeing]] to a peace.^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From religion and law, where one accepted a gift, a legacy or a summons, the verb passed into general use for taking willingly what is offered.^(DHLF 1992)^(AND) ''Accepter de'' “to agree to (do)” is found in Bersuire before 1362.^(DHLF 1992) In commerce, accepting a bill of exchange, that is promising to pay it at its due date, is recorded from 1679, with Savary des Bruslons, Quemada found a letter of Poussin using it in 1644.^(DHLF 1992)^(BHVF) Phrases such as ''accepter le combat'' and ''accepter un défi'' (1671) and Corneille's ''j'en accepte l'augure'' (1640) show how widely the verb had spread.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ In modern French it also means to put up with what one cannot change, and to admit a person into a group.^(GLLF 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1250 – First record, in religious use.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1317 – A legal use.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * Before 1362 – ''Accepter de'' “to agree to”, in Bersuire.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1640 – Corneille's ''j'en accepte l'augure''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1644 – Accepting a bill of exchange, in a letter of Poussin.^(BHVF)

+ * 1671 – ''Accepter le combat'', ''accepter un défi''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1679 – The commercial sense is recorded by Savary des Bruslons.^(DHLF 1992)^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To take or receive willingly what is offered: ''accepter un cadeau, une invitation''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)

+ # To agree to, consent to: ''accepter le combat'', ''accepter de partir''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873)

+ # ''(law, commerce)'' To accept a [[m|en|legacy]] or a [[m|en|bill of exchange]], promising to pay it when due.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # To put up with, [[m|en|tolerate]]: to let happen what one could prevent, or to bear a hardship.^(GLLF 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # To admit someone into a group or a company.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[acceptable]]

+ * [[inacceptable]]

+ * [[acceptation]]

+ * [[accepteur]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[la|acceptō]]

+ * [[acheter]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}