assignation

Assignation is a term with at least two main senses. In common usage, it denotes a secret or illicit meeting, especially a romantic rendezvous between lovers. The sense carries literary and historical connotations and is often found in fiction or historical writing to describe a clandestine appointment or liaison.

In a legal and administrative context, assignation can refer to the act of assigning or allocating rights, property, or duties, or to a document that effects such transfer. This sense is closely related to “assignment” but is used in certain legal traditions or older texts. It may also denote the appointment or designation of a person for a particular role or task, depending on jurisdiction.

Etymology traces assignation to Latin assignatio, through Old French assignation, with the core meaning of appointing, setting aside, or transferring. Over time, the romantic sense diverged from the more formal legal sense, so the word can be ambiguous without contextual clues. In modern usage, the assignation most often encountered in everyday language is the secret meeting; the legal sense is more common in specialized or historical writings.

Usage notes: the two senses are distinct and can lead to confusion if context is unclear. The romantic sense appears mainly in literature and older texts, while the legal sense appears in discussions of property transfers, debts, or rights.