lacceptation

Lacceptation is a noun used in English and historical texts to refer to the act of accepting or the state of being accepted, and, in linguistic and philosophical contexts, to denote the sense or meaning of a term. The form is related to the French l’acceptation and the longer English word acceptation, with the latter appearing in older dictionaries to indicate a word’s particular sense rather than its physical act of acceptance.

Etymology and scope: The term derives from Latin acceptatio via Old French, and it entered English through legal, philosophical, and lexicographical usage. In modern standard English, acceptation is more often encountered in scholarly writing or dictionary entries, where it designates a specific sense or meaning of a word, as in “the acceptations of the term ‘bank’.” Outside linguistics, lacceptation can also appear in discussions of agreement or assent, especially within scholastic or legal contexts, though this usage is less common today.

Linguistic and philosophical use: In dictionaries and philology, acceptations are the distinct senses listed for a word. The concept parallels what contemporary linguists might call “senses” or “meanings.” In philosophy, particularly in historical texts, acceptation can describe the act of assent to a proposition or the interpretation attached to a term within a theory, sometimes contrasted with reference or denotation.

Contemporary status: Today, acceptation is considered somewhat archaic or specialized in English. It is typically replaced by “meaning,” “sense,” or “acceptance,” depending on the context. It remains a recognized term in historical linguistic works and some philosophical writings.

See also: acceptance, sense (linguistics), meaning, definition.