Accessing

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈæksɛsɪŋ/

Definitions

1. The action of gaining entry to databases or systems for the purpose of retrieving information or resources occurs through a connection process
2. The process of obtaining permission or ability to approach a place or resource ; the act of retrieving or obtaining data from a system or source
3. Acting to enter or reach a particular location or resource ; getting hold of information from a computer or database

Etymology: Before it meant reaching a file or database, "access" was a word for a sudden fit or attack. Middle English borrowed "accesse" in the early 14th century from Middle French "acces", which meant "attack" or "onslaught", and that French word came from Latin "accessus", the past participle of "accedere", "to approach". The Latin verb combined "ad", "to" or "toward", with "cedere", "to move" or "yield", so its core idea was simply moving toward something. The sense of "entrance" or a way in only appeared around 1380, and the idea of getting at something, whether a place or a store of knowledge, grew out of that. The verb "access" had been in use for some time when "accessing" took on its modern sense. The form in this entry first appeared in 1962, when the word began to describe retrieving stored information, a usage closely tied to computing. The sense is a figurative extension of the older meaning of reaching or getting at something, now applied to data rather than to a building or a room.

Synonyms: entering, access, retrieving, obtaining, acquiring

Antonyms: losing, forfeiting, surrendering, relinquishing, abandoning