English
accept
Accept comes from Latin acceptō ‘to receive’, frequentative of accipiō, and ultimately from capiō ‘to take’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapiō‘to take’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEaccipiō‘to receive’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEacceptō‘to receive’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400accepteruncertain
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500accepten‘to accept’
- Englishearliest quotation 1599accept
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapiō‘to take’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEaccipiō‘to receive’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEacceptō‘to receive’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400accepteruncertain
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500accepten‘to accept’
- Englishearliest quotation 1599accept
Earliest quotation: 1599, William Shakespeare, Henry V: “Pass our accept and peremptory answer.”
first attested First attested about 1380 (as stated in the etymology)
The story
First attested about 1380.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kap-
had, head, capital, heavy, catch, behavior, captain, escape, heavily, capacity, chapter, achieve, cape, except, chef, cattle, cabin, haven, chapel, occupation, behave, capitol, capita, hawk, precipitation, captive, chaplain, cad, captivity, mischief, conceive, mischievous, conceivable, haves, capillary, chieftain, precipitate, capo, cabana, capa, 139 more
through Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti ‘to be grasping’
through Proto-Italic *kapjō ‘to take, seize’
case, capsule, cashier, chassis, cassette, casket, cajon, kas, chasse, 28 more
through Archaic Latin kapiō
through Latin capiō ‘to take’
cash, receive, capable, cable, chase, cop, recipe, capture, recipient, anticipation, anticipate, reception, perception, cater, caption, susceptible, deceive, deception, deceit, deceptive, preoccupation, receivable, captivate, captor, perceptible, sashay, preceptor, 25 more
Today it means
verb To receive, especially with a consent, with favour, or with approval.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin capiō / accept