agree English · revision 3204

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1374, Chaucer|origins=la grātus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /əˈɡriː/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|agreen]],^(AHD 2000)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|agreer|t=to please, satisfy; receive with favour]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from the phrase a gré “to one's liking, favourably”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[la|ad|t=to]] and Old French gré “pleasure, will”, from [[la|grātum]], the neuter of [[m|la|grātus|t=pleasing, welcome, agreeable]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*gʷerh₂-|alt=*gwere-|t=to favour]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) The American Heritage Dictionary gives a Vulgar Latin verb *aggrātāre.^(AHD 2000)^(Hoad 1986) It is related to [[grace]] and [[grateful]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “To please”: about 1374,^(OED 1989) or about 1385 in Chaucer's ''Troilus and Criseyde'';^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline dates “to give consent, assent” to the late 14th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Word Origins notes a core idea of trying to please.^(Cresswell 2021) The Middle English sense “to please, gratify” survives in [[agreeable]].^(Etymonline) Of parties, “to come to terms, make a settlement”, is from the mid-15th century,^(Etymonline) and “to be of one opinion” from the late 15th century.^(Etymonline) Of things, “to coincide, correspond”, is from the 1520s.^(Etymonline) [[Disagree]] first appears in writing in the 1470s, a century after ''agree''.^(Cresswell 2021) ''Agree to differ'' is from 1785, and ''agree to disagree'' from 1792.^(Etymonline) Of food or climate, ''agree with'' means “to suit one's health”.^(AHD) In Scots it could even mean “to like a food”: “I don't agree with fresh herrings”.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1374 – to please.^(OED 1989)

+ * late 14th century – to consent.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1425 – ''agreement''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * mid-15th century – to come to terms.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1470s – ''disagree''.^(Cresswell 2021)

+ * late 15th century – to be of one opinion.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1520s – of things, to coincide.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1785 – ''agree to differ''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To have the same opinion; to [[concur]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To say yes to; to [[consent]]: ''agreed to help''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To reach a decision together: ''agree on a price''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To be consistent; to [[correspond]]: ''the accounts agree''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Of food or climate, to suit one's health.^(AHD)

+ # ''(grammar)'' To match in [[gender]], number or person.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[agreeingly]]

+ * [[agreeable]]

+ * [[disagree]]

+ * [[agreement]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[grace]]

+ * [[grateful]]

+ * [[gratitude]]

+ * [[gratis]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Agree'' can describe simply a lack of conflict, as in ''the witnesses' accounts agree'', while ''conform'', ''harmonize'', ''accord'', ''correspond'' and ''coincide'' each stress a particular kind of compatibility.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}