acceptation

Acceptation is a noun in English with meanings connected to the act of accepting and, in linguistic and philosophical contexts, to the sense or meaning of a word.

In its broad usage, acceptation can refer to the act of accepting something offered or acknowledged, or to the state of being accepted or approved. In linguistics and philosophy, it more specifically denotes the sense or meaning a term has in a given context—the content that a word stands for in a particular usage. For example, the acceptation of the word bank can include meanings related to a financial institution or the side of a river, depending on the context.

Historically, the term derives from Latin acceptatio and was common in scholastic and early modern writings. In those traditions, a word was said to have multiple acceptations, each corresponding to a different sense or intention of the speaker. The concept helped distinguish the signification of a term from its mere grammatical use or extension in discourse.

In contemporary usage, English tends to favor the words meaning, sense, or denotation for linguistic purposes, and acceptance or assent for the act of agreeing. As a result, acceptation is now more often encountered in historical, philosophical, or lexicographic texts than in everyday speech.

See also: meaning, sense, denotation, connotation, acceptance.