Vouchsafe

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˌvaʊt͡ʃˈseɪf/

Definitions

1. To grant or permit something, often reluctantly or as a special favor, or to condescend to give or reveal information
2. to graciously grant or permit something as a benevolent gesture, often implying reluctance or condescension
3. to deign bestowing or revealing something upon another, typically suggesting a favor extended from a position of superiority

Etymology: "Vouchsafe" is built from two older English words that were once written separately: "vouch" and "safe." "Vouch" comes from Old French "voucher," meaning to call upon or summon, and by Middle English it had come to mean to attest to or guarantee something. "Safe" here is the older sense of "safe" as "certain" or "secure," the same root as the modern word for a locked box, so "vouchsafe" originally meant to guarantee or certify something as sure. The grand, condescending sense that the word carries today grew out of that guarantee. To vouchsafe something was to grant it, often as a kindness from someone with the power to give or withhold it. Over time the verb came to be used almost exclusively in this lofty register, so a modern speaker who says a judge "vouchsafed a reply" hears a suggestion of rank and favour that the original meaning of certainty never contained.

Synonyms: grant, bestow, confer, provide, give

Antonyms: withhold, deny, refuse, revoke, take