Admission

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ədˈmɪʃən/

Definitions

1. The act of allowing someone to enter a place, or the act of confessing something to be true
2. The process of granting entry to a venue or institution, or the acknowledgment of a fact or truth in a conversation or context
3. The permission given to an individual for entry into a specific place, along with the acceptance of a reality or truth in discussion

Etymology: The noun "admission" comes from Latin "admissio," a form built from "admittere," meaning "to send to" or "to let in." The Latin verb combined "ad-" (toward) with "mittere" (to send), so the underlying picture is of sending someone or something toward a place and letting them through. English took the word over more or less directly, and French has a parallel form, which shows how widely the same Latin root was adopted across European languages. The sense of "permission to enter" is the original physical idea, a doorway opened to someone. Over time the word extended from getting through a gate to getting into an institution, a profession, or a body of knowledge, and eventually to confessing a fact, since letting something in becomes letting it out into the open as an acknowledged truth.

Synonyms: entry, access

Antonyms: exclusion, rejection