What does accorder mean?
Accorder is a rare English noun meaning a person who grants or agrees to something. In legal and historical usage, it most often denotes someone who awards a privilege, right, request, or other grant. Its basic sense comes from the verb accord, “to agree” or “to grant,” so an accorder can be understood as the person who makes an arrangement or gives assent. The word is not a common everyday synonym for grantor or adjudicator: its function depends on context, and an accorder need not be a judge who decides a dispute. Most modern speakers will choose granter or grantor when describing someone who grants a legal interest, and agreer when speaking generally. Accorder nevertheless remains useful in specialized or archaic texts because it names the agent in a single, economical word. Its clearest modern use is as the person who formally permits or awards something, while its older general sense covers anyone who comes to an agreement with another. The word's rarity should not be mistaken for ambiguity: an accorder gives or sanctions; an agreement itself is the result.
nounA person who grants or awards something, especially a right or privilege; by extension, a person who agrees or assents.
- A person who grants or awards a right, privilege, request, or similar grant; in older or more general use, one who agrees or assents.
"The charter identified the king as the accorder of the guild's privileges."
"The charter identified the king as the accorder of the guild's privileges."
"She accepted the accorder's decision after the supporting documents were reviewed."
The plural is rare and chiefly occurs in legal or historical prose.
"The king and the archbishop were named as the principal accorders of the charter."
An accorder is the person who makes things accord: one who grants a right or gives formal assent.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does accorder come from?
Accorder is an English agent noun formed from accord plus the suffix -er. Accord entered Middle English from Old French acorder, ultimately from Medieval Latin accordare, formed from ad-, meaning “to,” and Latin cor, cordis, meaning “heart.” The sense of bringing something into accord, whether as agreement or harmonious arrangement, accounts for the noun's meanings involving both assent and granting.
How accorder is actually used
Rare and chiefly legal, historical, or formal. In contemporary legal prose, granter or grantor is usually clearer for someone who grants an interest, while agreer may fit the older sense of assenting. The word is not generally used for an adjudicator unless that person is also the one granting the right.