What does acceptation mean?
Acceptation is a formal noun referring to the accepted or established meaning of a word — the sense in which a term is customarily understood by speakers of a language. It appears most often in scholarly, legal, and philosophical contexts, where precision about language matters: a writer might say that in its strictest acceptation, a term applies only to a narrow set of cases, while in its wider acceptation it covers more. The word derives from the Latin acceptatio, related to accipere, 'to receive,' and entered English in the late Middle Ages. Although it resembles 'acceptance,' the two are distinct: acceptance describes the act of receiving or agreeing to something, whereas acceptation concerns semantics — what a word signifies. A rarer, now largely obsolete sense of acceptation once meant acceptance itself. Today it remains a useful term for anyone who needs to discuss the nuances of meaning with rigor and clarity.
The accepted or established meaning of a word or expression; the sense in which a term is generally understood.
"In its usual acceptation, the phrase implies consent rather than mere tolerance."
Chiefly formal; common in legal, theological, and philosophical discourse.
(Archaic) Acceptance or favorable reception.
"His proposals met with ready acceptation among the council members."
This sense is now obsolete or very rare; modern readers may misread it as the primary meaning.
Rarely pluralized; when it occurs, the plural typically contrasts different senses of a single term across contexts or periods.
"The two acceptations of the word coexisted uneasily throughout the seventeenth century."
Despite sounding like 'acceptance,' this word is really about what words mean — philosophers have used it for centuries to pin down exactly how a term should be understood.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of acceptation
Acceptation comes from the Latin acceptatio, meaning 'a receiving or accepting,' derived from acceptare, a frequentative form of accipere, 'to receive or take.' The word passed into English via Old French in the late medieval period, with its semantic sense — the accepted meaning of a word — becoming its dominant usage by the early modern era. It shares its Latin root with words such as accept, acceptance, and acception, as well as more distantly with deception and conception, all stemming from the capere family of verbs relating to taking or seizing.
How acceptation is actually used
A formal, somewhat literary word found mainly in academic, legal, and philosophical writing. It sounds similar to 'acceptance' but carries an entirely different meaning, so care is needed in both writing and speech. The second sense (acceptance) is now largely obsolete.
Easily confused with acceptation
Acceptance is the act of receiving or agreeing to something, while acceptation refers to the established meaning or sense of a word.
An exception is a case excluded from a general rule; acceptation, despite a similar sound and shared Latin roots, concerns the meaning of a word rather than an exclusion.