acceptancen.
/əkˈsɛpt(ə)ns/, /akˈsɛpt(ə)ns/, U.S. /əkˈsɛpt(ə)ns/, /ækˈsɛpt(ə)ns/ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal obligation > [noun] > fact of legally binding oneself
obligement1499
acceptance1528
1528–30 tr. T. Littleton Tenures (new ed.) f. xli A man shal haue none aduauntage by suche release that shall be agaynst his owne propre acceptaunce.
1604 R. Cawdrey Table Alphabet. Acceptance, an agreeing to some former act done before.
a1616 C. Calthrope Relation Lord of Mannor & Coppy-holder (1635) 55 I doubt whether the Lord may grant this againe by Coppy, as hee may where it comes unto him by forfeiture, or by escheat, because it is made percell in demeasne by his owne acceptance.
2.
a. acceptance of persons n. (and variants) now rare undue partiality on personal grounds; favouritism. Cf. accept v. 2, acception n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > rightness or justice > wrong or injustice > [noun] > partiality
acceptionc1384
favour1393
accepting of persons (also faces)1395
acceptation of personsc1400
partiality1421
acceptance of persons1531
affecta1547
affection1547
partialness1561
prosopolepsy1646
favouritism1763
one-sidedness1830
biasness1872
1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour ii. ix. sig. Q.viiiv I wyll nowe write of that beneuolence onely, whiche is moste vniuersall: wherin is equalitie without singuler affection or acceptaunce of personagis.
1614 T. Gibson Blessing of Good King 8 The Iustice of a King is, that hee doe not wrongfully oppresse any man by his power, that hee iudge betweene man and man without acceptance of persons.
a1677 T. Manton Christs Temptation (1685) i. 9 Acceptance of Persons in Judgment is a violation of Justice, but not in matters of free favour.
1712 Liturgy used in Churches of Neufchatel 32 With God there is no Iniquity, nor Acceptance with Persons.
1771 tr. J.-H. Maubert de Gouvest Lett. French Nation I. xv. 228 Family-interests, might render some of them partial in the assessment, and that there might be on their side an acceptance of persons.
1840 Emancipator (N.Y.) 5 Mar. 180/5 The God both of them and of their slaves, dwells in Heaven, and..with him there is no acceptance of persons.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 580 A Sovereign who had sworn that he..would do justice, without acceptance of persons.
1910 T. O'Donnell Priest of To-day ix. 114 Let him avoid all acceptance of persons, and tend the poor and the uncultured no less lovingly and indefatigably than the cultured and the rich.
1955 University Rev. 1 60 Our country abounds at all levels in what the medievals called the acceptance of persons.
b. Reception of a person; esp. favourable reception, approval.
ΚΠ
1536 R. Taverner tr. P. Melanchthon Apol. sig. C. viiiv, in Confessyon Fayth Germaynes The scrypture is ful of suche aucthorytes and testymonyes, for otherwhiles it sheweth the lawe, otherwhyles the promyses of Chryst, remyssyon of synnes and free acceptaunce for Chryste.
1592 Let. 18 Sept. in Coll. Malone Soc. (1908) 1 201 Wee knowe not how otherwise to excuse it then by appealinge vnto your honorable and accustomed good acceptance.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iv. i. 162 I neuer knew so young a body with so olde a head: I leaue him to your gracious acceptance . View more context for this quotation
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Malgrace,..bad acceptance, ill opinion.
1640 R. Brathwait Ar't Asleepe Husband? 264 I retire for a season to Vienna, where a Merchant hath tender'd me all faire acceptance.
1711 B. Hoadly Several Disc. xvi. 346 This gracious Acceptance of him was not merely, or chiefly, on the account of his Sorrow for his past Sins; but for the sake of his believing in Jesus Christ.
1799 J. W. Peers Minutiæ 192 We do not find so much holiness in ourselves as the devil would persuade us is necessary for God's acceptance of us in Christ.
1814 R. Southey Roderick vii. 95 That vow hath been pronounced..whereby we stand For condemnation or acceptance.
1849 C. Brontë Shirley I. iii. 67 He had no taste for what was ordinary; a racy, rough character, high or low, ever found acceptance with him.
1882 Daily Tel. Mar. 9 The vocalist..sang with marked acceptance.
1920 Contemp. Rev. 117 345 It must not be supposed that this acceptance of him by all men of all complexions argues the smallest lack of principles.
1999 New Yorker 31 May 96/2 Even when she lashes out she can't hide her craving for acceptance.
3.
a. Belief in or agreement with an idea, theory, statement, etc.; credence; assent.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > [noun]
ylevec888
levec950
trowing1303
creancec1380
believingc1384
credencea1393
acceptationa1425
beliefc1425
acceptance1533
leving1533
credency1648
creed1819
1533 C. St. German Salem & Bizance xvi. f. lx The iudge may accepte suche a token to be true, though there appere some suspection of vntruthe in the witnes. In whiche acceptance he shal..do wrong to the partie that is accused.
1706 J. Bingham French Churches Apol. iii. xx. 199 The Faith of the Adult is an acceptance of the Covenant of Grace and the Gospel-Doctrine.
1794 R. J. Sulivan View of Nature II. 230 Recommend them to the belief and acceptance of all reasonable persons.
1854 M. Faraday Exper. Res. lv. 470 The assertion finds acceptance in every rank of society.
1880 19th Cent. Apr. 602 The probability of their volcanic origin seems so strong as to justify its full acceptance.
1928 Ann. Amer. Acad. Polit. & Social Sci. 138 82 The rule of the Proletariat functions only through general acceptance of communistic doctrine.
2006 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) B. 361 624/2 The findings of the study have gained acceptance among the veterans.
b. The action or fact of receiving something favourably; (of a situation, action, or thing) the fact of being received favourably; positive reception, approval.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > [noun]
willOE
allowancec1400
acceptationa1425
allowing1435
approof1439
approving1523
comprobation1529
owning1535
approbation1548
good liking?1560
suffrage1563
acceptance1569
liking1569
pleasure1569
allowment1570
approvance1592
probatum1606
approvement1615
sufferage1622
the light of a person's countenance1649
reception1660
receivedness1661
imprimatur1672
approval1690
sanction1738
go-down1753
rubber stamping1920
the mind > language > statement > acceptance, reception, or admission > [noun]
acceptationa1425
admission?1430
allowancec1443
receipta1500
admittinga1504
admittance1534
confession1546
acceptance1569
entertain1616
conceding1656
reception1660
1569 N. Haward tr. Seneca Line of Liberalitie iii. xxvii. f. 123 For the mainteinyng the right acceptaunce and trewe vnderstandynge of suche plesour and benefites as seruauntes maye doo to their maisters.
1649 (title) A platform of church discipline... To be presented to the churches and Generall Court for their consideration and acceptance.
1669 S. Pepys Diary 29 Jan. (1976) IX. 430 It did meet with the Duke of York's acceptance and well-liking.
1748 M. Pilkington Let. 1 Oct. in J. E. Tierney Corr. R. Dodsley (1988) 124 I doubt not of their favourable Acceptance, having had the approbation of several of my learned Aquaintance.
1779 J. Newton in J. Newton & W. Cowper Olney Hymns i. lvii. 7 By thee my pray'rs acceptance gain, Altho' with sin defil'd.
1818 S. T. Coleridge Coll. Lett. (1971) VI. 1044 I must trouble him with the conveyance of this and of the accompanyment, of which I solicit your favorable acceptance.
1892 J. E. T. Rogers Industr. & Commerc. Hist. Eng. (new ed.) ii. iv. 267 My friend Mr. Tuckwell, who has carried out the system with the greatest success and acceptance.
1931 E. S. Smith Reducing Seasonal Unemployment viii. 155 Overplanning without customer acceptance is just as bad as underplanning.
1986 Marketing 11 Sept. 41/3 A brand name second to none in the British toy industry, with strong acceptance both by children and their parents.
c. Patient or resigned endurance or toleration (of a difficult, unpleasant, or trying situation or event).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > calmness > patience > [noun] > forbearance or tolerance
mercya1225
tholea1325
patiencyc1350
patiencea1382
abidingc1384
sustentationc1384
tack1412
tolerancya1556
digesture1567
toleration1582
acceptance1586
forbearance1599
brooking1624
digestion1653
tolerance1765
1586 J. Norden Mirror for Multitude i. 2 We must followe him [sc. Christ] in patient acceptance of his crosse for the truths sake.
1665 London's Lament. in Plague Checkt sig. b3 Let her submit: keep silence unto God, Put mouth in dust, quietly bear the Rod... Let her expresse Acceptance of her punishment.
1735 Present State Republick Lett. 16 416 His Purification might have been finished by his repenting before the Incident, as well as by a voluntary Acceptance of his Punishment.
1844 Lowell (Mass.) Offering June 183 She constantly inculcates patience, resignation, an unmurmuring reception of the yoke; an unquestioning submission to ‘the powers that be’, and the calm acceptance of whatever ill they may choose to bestow.
1870 ‘C. Griffith’ Valentine Forde II. iii. 38 It disposed him for a time to a weary acceptance of sorrow that seemed inevitable.
1910 C. T. Jackson My Brother's Keeper i. 13 She had about her light hair, brown eyes, her face of resolution and calm acceptance, something of the array of September.
1946 Amer. Jrnl. Social. Mar. 422 One such expression is ‘TS’ or ‘tough s——’... ‘TS’, resigned acceptance, said with a bitter smile.
1998 Today's Golfer Sept. 14/2 The way O'Meara constructed his victory, his quiet application throughout the four days, his acceptance of the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.
4. = acceptation n. 5. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > [noun] > accepted usage
usage?c1400
acceptance1533
acception1535
acceptationa1555
1533 T. More Debellacyon Salem & Bizance i. vii. f. xliv Whether commen vsage and acceptaunce of a worde sholde agaynste the cyrcumstaunces of the mater, haue lyke strength in all other thynges, as yt hath in maters of law.
a1628 J. Clare Converted Jew (1630) iii. 118 A metaphorical and improper acceptance of the word: Pryest.
1665 R. South Serm. preached before Court 2 An assertion most certainly true, though under the common acceptance of it, not only false, but odious.
1708 Brit. Apollo 11–13 Aug. The Original.., in one acceptance of the word, signifies those Invisible Regions, which are the receptacles of departed Souls.
1789 C. Durnford & E. H. East Rep. Cases King's Bench 2 102 There was, according to the strict legal acceptance of the words, a debt due.
1830 Amer. Jrnl. Educ. Jan. 10 According to the fashionable acceptance of the word, she might have been called full dressed, i. e. half naked.
1857 S. Osborn Quedah xvii. 237 Neither Jadee nor I were sportsmen in the proper acceptance of the word.
1905 Critic (N.Y.) Dec. 563/1 The ‘joy of love’, therefore, in the Provençal acceptance of the phrase, is a kind of perennial enthusiasm, forever exploiting itself.
1954 G. T. Harrison Mormons are Peculiar People ix. 95 A prophecy, in the ordinary acceptance of the term, signifies a prediction of future events which could not have been foreseen by human sagacity.
5.
a. The action or fact of willingly receiving something offered or given, assenting to a proposal or a state of affairs, or of agreeing to undertake a task or take up a role.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > acquisition > receiving > [noun] > acceptance
underfonging1340
acceptionc1384
acceptation1426
accepting1439
entertaininga1492
acceptance1534
entertainment1586
take-up1946
1534 in Statutes (1870) I. 415 Acte concernyng the acceptaunce of the othe to the Acte of Sewers.
a1599 E. Spenser View State Ireland 4 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) By that acceptance of his Soveraignty they also accepted of his lawes.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) ii. iii. 9 If he tel vs his Noble deeds, we must also tell him our Noble acceptance of them. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost v. 531 Our voluntarie service he requires, Not our necessitated, such with him Findes no acceptance . View more context for this quotation
1683 J. Dalrymple Decisions Lords of Council & Session I. 98 Nothing alleadged, nor produced to instruct his acceptance of the Office of Tutory.
1716 B. Taylor Let. 22 Apr. in I. Newton Corr. (1976) VI. 332 In one of his last he tells me he has sent to me a hamper of Champagne wine, and begs your acceptance of 50 bottles of it.
a1764 R. Lloyd Poet in Wks. (1774) II. 21 The mob his kind acceptance begs Of dirt, and stones, and addle-eggs.
1798 M. A. Hanway Ellinor IV. ii. 31 Even her father appeared ashamed of the husband he offered to her acceptance.
1832 R. Lander & J. Lander Jrnl. Exped. Niger I. i. 26 Nothing seemed unworthy his acceptance, from fine scarlet cloth to a child's farthing whistle.
1876 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest II. App. 531 William or his advisers may..have pressed the acceptance of the crown on Eadward.
1925 Woman's World (Chicago) Apr. 10/1 A memory had been roused in her heart which would not permit acceptance of any outside love.
1955 O. Manning Doves of Venus i. v. 58 Mrs. Mackie nodded her acceptance of this apology.
1991 Hist. Workshop Spring 170 The significance of her acceptance of rosaries as payment for ale.
b. As a count noun: an instance of this.
ΚΠ
1580 J. Lyly Euphues & his Eng. f. 34v As you are the first, vnto whome I haue vowed my loue, so you shall be the last, requiring nothing but a friendly acceptaunce of my seruice.
1603 H. Petowe Englands Cæsar Ep. Ded. sig. A2v In hope they will all proue delicious according to your expectations, I present them in all loue to your kinde acceptances.
1762 Edinb. Mag. Feb. 67/1 My sword and my heart are both ready for my country's service, and have not yet been favoured with an acceptance.
1861 Church Monthly Apr. 103/1 Is not the word treason appropriate to that act which, after an oath of allegiance, or an acceptance of an office, breaks the oath and betrays the trust?
1919 Safety Engin. Feb. 91/1 The underwriter..will base his acceptances and rejections and decisions as regards lines, rates and conditions upon the statements of the inspector.
2002 K. Morgan Embrace Dawn v. 82 After all, agreeing to a courtship was by no means an acceptance of a proposal of marriage.
6.
a. The state or condition of being accepted, esp. by God.
ΚΠ
1592 G. Babington Certaine Comfortable Notes Genesis (xxxv.) f. 140v Away therefore with all discouraging thoughts, and verye sowre conceipts, of no acceptance with God, where any blemish or imperfection is.
1618 W. Whately New Birth iv. 34 At last he shal not faile to find acceptance.
1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. v. 19 She first brought Austen into acceptance with the King.
1714 T. Ellwood Hist. Life (1765) 72 I found acceptance with the Lord.
1745 J. Wesley Answer to Rev. Church 17 Can we deny, That Holiness is a Condition of Final Acceptance?
1824 J. Hogg Private Mem. Justified Sinner 173 He had at last prevailed, and had now gained the long and earnestly desired assurance of my acceptance with the Almighty.
1887 Pharmaceut. Jrnl. & Trans. 2 July 4/2 The principle of conservation..slid quietly into acceptance.
1921 Jrnl. Relig. May 261 His acceptance with the Lord and his position and reward in the kingdom will depend upon his loyalty to duty and service while waiting.
2007 Spin Sept. 82/3 This music is showing signs of coming back into acceptance.
b. The quality of being accepted or acceptable; acceptability, agreeableness. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being satisfactory > [noun]
acceptableness1565
well-being1573
acceptance1594
acceptability1647
unobjectionableness1831
the mind > emotion > pleasure > quality of being pleasant or pleasurable > [noun]
lustfulnessa900
sweetnessc900
sootnessc1000
unloathfulnessc1350
sugarc1374
pleasancec1395
agreeability?c1400
dulcourc1429
pleasure1497
pleasantnessa1500
douceness1518
dulceness?1526
dulcetness1528
pleasancy1545
ungrieffulness1556
acceptableness1565
rose water1584
pleasingnessa1586
amenity?1591
pleasing1591
acceptance1594
suavity1594
prettiness1604
jucundity1620
dulcity1623
pleasurableness1626
agreeablenessa1631
placency1639
acceptability1647
dulce1654
amicableness1667
pleasurability1793
niceness1809
dulciness1828
enjoyableness1868
Gemütlichkeit1892
sweetness and light1927
1594 C. Marlowe & T. Nashe Dido iii. sig. D3 Loue and duetie led him on perhaps, To presse beyond acceptance to your sight.
1666 R. South Serm. preached at Lambeth-Chappel 17 Some men cannot be Fools with so good acceptance as others.
1699 W. Bates Spiritual Perfection viii. 205 Love gives value and acceptance to all other Gifts and Graces, and their operations.
a1736 J. Straight Sel. Disc. (1741) I. iii. 42 The same Acts..differ in their Value or Degrees of Acceptance, as they proceed more or less from this Principle of Love.
1796 G. Wakefield in A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey V. xx. 6 (note) The second verse, which will allow no position to the proper name with acceptance to the ear, but that allotted by our translator.
1868 R. Browning Ring & Bk. I. ii. 118 The Canon? We caress him..A man of such acceptance.
1884 Times 31 Mar. 7/4 The young rake in clerical garb fulfils his preceptorial functions with great acceptance as far as his lady pupils are concerned.
1981 Times Nov. 13 12/7 Here he served with great acceptance right through the troubled years of the war.
7. Finance. Cf. accept v. 5.
a. The action of formally accepting the liability to pay a bill of exchange when due; an agreement to accept a bill. Also: the signature on a bill indicating such an agreement.
ΚΠ
1638 L. Roberts Merchants Mappe of Commerce ccciii. sig. Ddd2v The acceptance of all Bills of Exchange here, is alwayes made the first day of the moneth of each payment: which acceptances hold in themselves both a promise and assurance of the payment of the summe.
1682 J. Scarlett Stile of Exchanges 59 Acceptance must be demanded of him only, to whom the Bill is directed.
1771 J. Burrow Rep. Court King's Bench 3 1674 It was an Acceptance of this very Draught, by Relation and Connexion; though the Bill was not then drawn by the Plaintiffs on the Defendants.
1829 Ann. Reg. 1828 144/1 The acceptance of the bill now produced is not in my handwriting, or by my authority.
1866 A. Crump Pract. Treat. Banking v. 117 Acceptance..signifies an engagement on the part of the drawee to meet the bill in money when it falls due.
1921 Amer. Industries Dec. 14/1 The acceptance of the draft is an acknowledgement of the debt and the terms of purchase.
2002 South China Morning Post (Hong Kong) (Nexis) 7 July 2 The lapses paved the way for irregularities involving the acceptance and discounting of commercial bills.
b. A draft or bill of exchange that has been accepted.
ΚΠ
1746 Gentleman's Mag. Aug. 477/1 Forging or counterfeiting acceptances or bills of exchange, made felony.
1797 T.B. Pettyfogger Dramatized 109 Rag, an Acceptance, or Note.
?1802 R. B. Sheridan Let. (1996) II. 176 I can get the acceptance discounted tomorrow.
1865 C. E. L. Riddell George Geith II. ii. 30 There is scarcely a business man..the aim and object of whose life is not to get his acceptances into circulation.
1931 Economist 1 Aug. 210/1 In the total due to foreigners the chief changes were a reduction of $164 millions in foreign funds ‘put out’ in American acceptances.
1997 Proposed Demerger of Centrica (Brit. Gas) 44 No member of the BG Group had..liabilities under acceptances (other than normal trade bills).
8. The action or fact of agreeing to publish a submitted article, manuscript, etc.; an instance of this. Also: a letter confirming such an agreement.
ΚΠ
1766 J. Ussher Free Exam. Common Methods employed to prevent Popery 69 Advertisement by the Printer... This Letter..greatly deviates from that decorum which we made the condition of our acceptance for publication.
1779 Mirror 16 Feb. 33 The acceptance or refusal of an essay is no criterion of its merit, nor of the opinion in which it is held by the editor.
1847 Methodist Q. Rev. Oct. 533 He then turned his hand to prose, and, seeking another bookseller, presented for his acceptance an eastern tale.
1870 College Courant 26 Mar. 193/2 The long interval..not infrequently comes between the acceptance and the publication of, and consequent payment for, a writer's manuscript.
1936 D. Thomas Let. 6 May (1987) 229 English periodicals never pay on acceptance but only on publication.
1959 S. Plath Jrnl. 23 Apr. (2000) 477 Also, yesterday, my second acceptance from the New Yorker.
2002 G. M. Hayden in S. Grafton Writing Myst. (ed. 2) xxxiv. 265 If two acceptances arrive at your door, take the better offer.
9. Horse Racing. A horse confirmed to start a race, the appropriate fee having been paid by its owner, with no declaration of withdrawal having been made by the stipulated time. Frequently in plural.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > horse defined by purpose used for > [noun] > racehorse > accepted for race
acceptance1814
acceptor1839
1814 Morning Chron. 18 Jan. (heading) Acceptances for the Newmarket Free Handicaps.
1863 Times 22 Sept. 8/4 Three to accept, or no race... Acceptances to be signified on or before Tuesday, the 29th of September, to Messrs. Weatherby.
1923 Daily Mail 1 Feb. 9/1 The acceptances..are satisfactory for the ‘Lincoln’.
1946 F. Sargeson That Summer 69 I wrapped it in a sheet of newspaper I was keeping because of the acceptances.
2008 Australian (Nexis) 8 Dec. 32 The four acceptances from Hong Kong include Sunny Power and Inspiration, both horses Australian-bred.
10. An act or instance of accepting an invitation; a note, card, etc., sent for this purpose.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > correspondence > letter > card > [noun]
card1596
message card1746
birthday card1797
view card1822
acceptance1837
Easter card1842
wedding-cards1847
comic1860
postcard1869
letter card1870
postal card1870
pc1876
postal1877
note-card1884
photo card1890
greeting-card1898
picture postcard1899
seaside postcard1955
sympathy card1967
1837 F. M. Trollope Vicar of Wrexhill III. xv. 331 To both invitations the baronet returned a gracious acceptance.
1873 J. H. Beadle Undeveloped West xviii. 342 The ‘nervous-hystericky Italian hand’ resumed its beautiful regularity on pink-tinted ‘acceptances’.
1920 T. B. Aldrich Crowding Memories xiii. 140 The cards of invitation to meet Mr. Bret Harte on a certain evening, brought more acceptances than regrets.
1957 R. Carrington Mermaids & Mastodons ix. 136 Twenty-one acceptances were received and..the guests arrived at the appointed hour.
2006 Tuscaloosa (Alabama) News 22 Jan. 5 a/2 The dinner acceptances came flooding in.
11. The retention or absorption of a liquid by solid matter.
ΚΠ
1879 Jrnl. Franklin Inst. Oct. 250 Lithographic ink..refuses to deposit on the parts that have absorbed water, thus establishing the relation analogous to a drawing on stone as regards its acceptance or rejection of a greasy ink.
1912 Surg., Gynecol. & Obstetr. 15 571/1 The kidneys of the five live fœtuses were macroscopically blue... The livers also showed acceptance of the dye.
1976 M. H. Arnold Agric. Res. for Devel. ix. 259 Deterioration in the physical condition of the soil, as related to water acceptance, was evident.
2010 L. Mann Coloured Aluminium Jewellery 43 Warming the dye bath will help to accelerate the acceptance of dye into the anodic film.
12. Biology. The accepting of copulation by a female animal.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animal body > general parts > sexual organs and reproduction > [noun] > copulation > accepting of
acceptance1894
1894 Amer. Naturalist 28 37 After some time copulation was attempted... Only after repeated attempts did he succeed in gaining her acceptance.
1917 Entomol. News 28 162 If at this time the bride he engaged signifies her acceptance by elevating her abdomen from the surface of the twig, a copulation takes place.
1973 Adv. in Genetics 17 320 The acceptance response from the female stimulates the male to mount the female.
2002 Wilson Bull. 114 177/2 We did not notice any possible signal of acceptance of copulation from the female.
13. Chemistry. The action of receiving or gaining an electron, proton, etc., in a chemical reaction or process. Cf. accept v. 10b.
ΚΠ
1916 W. T. Hall tr. F. P. Treadwell Analyt. Chem. (ed. 4) I. 32 The permanganate is reduced to bivalent manganese cation, corresponding to a loss of five positive charges, or acceptance of five electrons.
1938 Proc. Royal Soc. B. 125 94 The reduction of cytochrome c, effected by the acceptance of an electron by its iron atom.
1963 Nature 23 Feb. 760/1 The possibility that electron acceptance by carcinogens is important for activity.
2000 V. A. Bloomfield et al. Nucleic Acids ii. 30 The general mechanism for proton exchange involves donation of a proton to a base..or acceptance of a proton from an acid.
14. Medicine. The successful reception of transplanted organs, tissue, or cells; the integration of such tissue into the recipient organism.
ΚΠ
1924 Trans. Chicago Pathol. Soc. 1 June 64 The first and most important factor in determining the acceptance of a graft, whether of tumor, of bone, or skin, or any other organic tissue.
1964 Oral Surg., Oral Med., Oral Pathol. 16 376 Determination of the immunologic basis of acceptance or rejection of such transplants is the primary goal of this study.
1988 A. M. Silverstein Hist. Immunol. xi. 279 Tumor researchers had already established by 1912 the following general rules governing the acceptance or rejection of tumor grafts.
2011 Transplantation Proc. 43 14/1 Ulrich's team reported acceptance of small bowel allografts by indirect recognition of donor class II MHC allopeptides.
Phrases
acceptance in lieu n. (in the United Kingdom) a scheme by which the government accepts artworks, manuscripts, or other objects of national historical interest as full or part payment of inheritance tax (previously capital transfer tax and estate duty); frequently attributive.The practice of accepting culturally important items in lieu of inheritance tax was established in 1910.
ΚΠ
1979 National Heritage Fund 4 in Parl. Papers 1978–9 (Cmnd. 7428) VII. 1073 The acceptance in lieu procedure incorporates tax benefits for owners and a ‘douceur’ arrangement to encourage them to dispose of their property to public institutions.
1990 Antique Collector Oct. 63/2 ‘Acceptance in lieu’, whereby heirs give a picture to a museum to pay off capital transfer tax, has also been kind to the National Gallery.
2002 Ashmolean Ann. Rep. 4 Among a rich haul of new acquisitions are Anthony van Dyck's oil sketch of the Procession of the Garter Knights, allocated to the Ashmolean under the Acceptance-in-Lieu scheme.
Compounds
C1. attributive. Designating an institution dealing with, or facility connected with, the acceptance of drafts or bills of exchange (see sense 7), as acceptance bank, acceptance credit, acceptance house. See also acceptance world n. at Compounds 2. Cf. accepting house n. at accepting n. Compounds.
ΚΠ
1911 Bankers Mag. Nov. 575/2 The issue of acceptances with B/L or other collaterals are largely confined..to the great discount or acceptance houses.
1913 Banking & Currency (U.S. Senate) III. 2986 The London City and Midland Bank (Ltd.) is an acceptance bank.
1958 Spectator 6 June 720/1 Fresh information about the sterling balances, and about acceptance credits, an important method by which international trade is financed in the City of London.
1980 Daily Tel. 12 Mar. 21 Less encouraging is a revival in the use of acceptance credits.
1999 Zimbabwe Independent (Nexis) 21 May In the case of default at maturity..the acceptance house has the contingent liability for the bills.
C2.
acceptance letter n. a letter giving notification or confirmation of acceptance of or for something; spec. (a) U.S. a letter accepting nomination as a political candidate, typically made public and containing an outline of the nominee's policies; (b) a letter informing a person of a successful application for something, now esp. a place at an educational institution.
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1852 Memphis (Tennessee) Daily Appeal 10 July 2/1 (heading) The acceptance letter of Gen. Scott.
1855 Freeman's Jrnl. (Dublin) 26 Mar. Plaintiff received an acceptance letter from the London agent named Hornby.
1932 Laredo (Texas) Times 7 Sept. 7/2 Literary enthusiasm thrives on encouragement... That is why the alert editor is so profuse in his acceptance letters and cheer-up telegrams.
1957 Hartford (Connecticut) Courant 9 June 36 a/1 Robert Giard at HPHS got acceptance letters from five colleges.
1980 Georgia Hist. Q. 64 204 In July when the Party printed his acceptance letter it was dated 7 June and contained no reference to the Red Fox [sc. Martin Van Buren].
2006 A. Robbins Overachievers vii. 169 Some top colleges..send ‘likely letters’ to students in February, giving them a heads-up that an acceptance letter will be on the way.
acceptance speech n. a speech given upon acceptance of an award, position of office, etc.
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the mind > language > speech > speech-making > [noun] > a speech > for specific occasion or purpose
His Majesty's Speech1583
New Year1595
panegyry1602
panegyric1603
remembrancea1616
valediction1619
panegyris1646
areopagitic1649
Hesped1650
allocution1689
maiden speech1702
Speech from the Throne1751
patter1772
inaugural1832
acceptance speech1855
oraison funèbre1856
keynote speech1863
keynote address1891
valedictory1892
keynote1896
pep speech1912
pep talk1913
1855 Semi-weekly Mississippian 17 July 1/2 The most remarkable acceptance speech we ever listened to.
1936 Fortune Oct. 112/2 A nice ‘executive order’ was polished and released one hot morning last July to compete for friendly headlines on the same day sturdy Governor Landon, the Republican nominee for President, was to make his acceptance speech at Topeka.
2005 Asiana Spring 41/2 Have you prepared an acceptance speech?
acceptance trial n. originally and chiefly Nautical a trial which a new ship undergoes before being accepted into service; also in extended use; cf. trial-trip n. at trial n.1 Compounds 2; frequently in plural.
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society > travel > travel by water > launching a vessel > [noun] > trials
acceptance trial1889
trial1921
1889 Daily Evening Bull. (San Francisco) 20 Sept. 4/2 The contract speed of the Chicago, the largest of the four vessels built by John Roach, was 14 knots and at her acceptance trial she made 15.3 knots.
1971 Daily Tel. 18 Feb. 2/3 Formal acceptance trials with the 1906A will begin on Monday. The computer is due to be in full operation by the end of next month.
1994 Lodi (Calif.) News-Sentinel 19 Feb. 12/3 After a second set of trials, known as acceptance trials, the number of deficiencies [in the ship] fell.
acceptance world n. (originally, in Anthony Powell's novel of that title, with reference to sense 7) life ‘accepted’ as a debt which must eventually be repaid (cf. quot. 1955); (hence, in extended allusive use) any milieu within which one is accepted or within which acceptance (of persons, new ideas, etc.) is important.
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1955 A. Powell Acceptance World v. 170 The Acceptance World was the world in which the essential element—happiness, for example—is drawn, as it were, from an engagement to meet a bill.
1966 J. Ashbery in Book Week 25 Sept. 6/1 Neglect in today's acceptance world has been practically abolished: every poet is assured of ‘a certain’ success.
1984 J. Bailey Sel. Essays 98 He goes to the party, for the world of elsewhere is also the acceptance world.
1995 M. Amis Information (1996) 104 There were cries and croaks of greeting, of ‘Still scribbling?’ and ‘Sold a million yet?’ The acceptance world.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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