Concéder

Concéder is a French verb meaning to grant, concede, acknowledge, or yield. It is used transitively, often with a person or organization as the indirect object (concéder quelque chose à quelqu’un), or with a clause introduced by que to admit a point (concéder que). The term is common in legal, political, and argumentative contexts, as well as in everyday speech when someone grants a concession or acknowledges a fact.

Etymology and usage patterns: concéder derives from Latin concessus and entered French through Old French. The verb can express granting a right or privilege (concéder un droit), yielding something in negotiation (concéder du terrain), or admitting a proposition as true (concéder que c’est une erreur). In rhetoric, it often signals a reluctant admission or a strategic concession to strengthen an argument.

Conjugation notes: concéder is a regular -er verb with the usual orthographic adjustment before a, o, u to preserve the soft c. Present tense forms: je concède, tu concèdes, il concède, nous concédons, vous concédez, ils concèdent. The past participle is concédé, used with auxiliary avoir in compound tenses (j’ai concédé). Other tenses follow standard -er verb paradigms: imperfect concédais/concédait, future concéderai/concéderas, etc. Subjunctive present: que je concède, que tu concèdes, qu’il concède, que nous concédions, que vous concédiez, qu’ils concèdent. The imperative is concède, concédons, concédez.

See also: ceder, céder, accorder, admettre, concession.

In summary, concéder centers on granting or admitting with a nuance of yielding or compromise, and it is used across formal and informal registers to describe both tangible acts of giving and the rhetorical act of granting an often reluctant acknowledgment.