Acceding

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Giving consent to a request or demand ; formally joining or agreeing to a treaty or proposal ; taking on a new office or position, especially by succession
2. Accepting or yielding to a demand or request ; becoming a party to a treaty or agreement ; stepping into a role or position, often after someone else
3. Agreeing to comply with a wish or command ; entering into an official agreement or pact ; beginning to hold a particular office or title

Etymology: "Acceding" is the present participle of "accede," and the verb carries a surprisingly literal core: to move toward something. Its Latin ancestor, "accedere," was built from "ad," meaning "to" or "toward," and "cedere," meaning "move" or "yield." Put together, the sense was simply to approach or come near, and that physical sense survived in Latin for a long time before the idea of yielding took center stage. The shift from approaching to yielding happened because arriving at a place often meant giving way to whoever held it. Someone who came up to a position, a throne, or an office could be understood as taking it over, and in time the emphasis moved from the act of drawing near to the act of agreeing to what was offered. English borrowed the verb in the early 15th century, first as "acceden," and "accede" came to mean giving consent to a request, proposal, or agreement. Modern usage often pairs the verb with a formal object, as in acceding to a demand or acceding to a treaty.

Synonyms: agreeing, consenting, yielding

Antonyms: disagreeing, refusing, denying