Accepcioun

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Archaic term for the act of accepting or receiving something favourably ; the particular sense in which a word or phrase is understood
2. An obsolete word for approval or welcome given to something ; the specific meaning a term carries in a given context
3. Old-fashioned name for the reception or acceptance of an offer or idea ; the interpretation or sense attached to a particular word

Etymology: This is a Middle English spelling of a word that is still in use, "acception," which came into English from Old French "acception," itself from the Latin "acceptio," meaning "a receiving." The Latin noun comes from "accipere," "to receive," built from "ad-" ("to") and "capere" ("to take"). So at its root the word describes the act of taking something that is offered. Its most notable medieval use was in the phrase "acception of persons," meaning partiality, or judging someone by their status or appearance rather than their merits. The Douay-Rheims Bible uses it in Romans 2:11 ("there is no acception of persons with God"), which is why the phrase stuck in religious writing. The modern English descendant, "acceptation," kept a different sense: the meaning in which a word is commonly accepted or understood.