acceptation

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The Word of the Day for April 19 is: 

acceptation   \ak-sep-TAY-shun\   noun
     1 : acceptance; especially : favorable reception or approval
    *2 : a generally accepted meaning of a word or understanding of a concept 

Example sentence:
     I may not be an "athlete," in the common acceptation of that word, but I 
do enjoy my daily workouts at the gym.

Did you know?
     "Acceptation" is older than its synonym "acceptance"; it first appeared in 
print in the 15th century, whereas "acceptance" took until 1574. Grammarian H. 
W. Fowler insisted in 1926 that "acceptation" and "acceptance" were not 
actually synonymous (he preferred to reserve "acceptation" for the "accepted 
meaning" use), but the earliest meaning of "acceptation" was indeed 
"acceptance." Both words descend from the Anglo-French word "accepter" ("to 
accept"), but "acceptation" took an extra step. Anglo-French added the 
"-ation" ending, which was changed to form "acceptacioun" in Middle English. 
(English embraced the present-day "-ation" ending later.) "Acceptance" simply 
comes from "accepter" plus the Anglo-French "-ance." 

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. 





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