approbation

English

Etymology

From lateMiddle Englishapprobacioun,fromOld Frenchapprobacion(Frenchapprobation), fromLatinapprobatio,fromapprobare(“to assent to as good, approve, also show to be good, confirm”),fromad(“to”)+probare(“approve, commend”),fromprobus(“good”).

Pronunciation

• (UK)IPA^(key):/ˌæp.ɹəʊˈbeɪ.ʃən/,/ˌæp.ɹəˈbeɪ.ʃən/
• (US)IPA^(key):/ˌæp.ɹoʊˈbeɪ.ʃən/,/ˌæp.ɹəˈbeɪ.ʃən/

• Audio(General American):

  (file)

• Rhymes:-eɪʃən

Noun

approbation(countableanduncountable,pluralapprobations)

1. The act ofapproving;an assenting to the propriety of a thing with some degree of pleasure or satisfaction;approval,sanction,commendationor officialrecognition.

   Synonyms:approval,concurrence,consent,liking,sanction;see alsoThesaurus:praise

   Antonym:disapprobation

   • 1796,William Melmoth(tr.),The Letters of Pliny the Consul: With Occasional Remarks,9th edition, page20:

     I am very sensible how much nobler it is to place the reward of virtue in the silentapprobationof one's own breast

   • 1815,Jane Austen,Emma,volume II, chapter 11:

     As a counsellor she was not wanted; but as an approver, (a much safer character,) she was truly welcome. Herapprobation,at once general and minute, warm and incessant, could not but please; and for another half-hour they were all walking to and fro, between the different rooms, some suggesting, some attending, and all in happy enjoyment of the future.

   • 1838,[Letitia Elizabeth] Landon(indicated as editor), chapter XX, inDuty and Inclination:[…],volume II, London:Henry Colburn,[…],→OCLC,page286:

     ...it was with the view to judge how far my own desires would act in harmony with the wishes of my family. Such an alliance cannot fail of meeting with their most flatteringapprobation.

   • 1866,Thomas Babington Macaulay,The Works of Lord Macaulay, Complete: History of England‎^[1],page342:

     Many, therefore, who did not assent to all that the King had said, joined in a loud hum ofapprobationwhen he concluded.

   • 1871,Charles Darwin, “Comparison of the Mental Powers of Man and the Lower Animals”, inThe Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex.[…],volume I, London:John Murray,[…],→OCLC,Part I (On the Descent of Man),page42:

     [A]nimals not only love, but have the desire to be loved.[…]They loveapprobationor praise;[…]

Usage notes

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary(1913) makes the following comment:

Approbation andapprovalhave the same general meaning, assenting to or declaring as good, sanction, commendation; but approbation is stronger and more positive.

• We may be anxious for the approbation of our friends; but we should be still more anxious for the approval of our own consciences.
• He who is desirous to obtain universal approbation will learn a good lesson from the fable of the old man and his ass.
• The work has been examined by several excellent judges, who have expressed their unqualified approval of its plan and execution.

Related terms

• appro
• approbate
• approbative
• approbator
• approbatory

Translations

the act of approval

• Dutch:bekrachtiging(nl)
• French:approbation(fr)f
• Georgian:მოწონება(moc̣oneba)
• Hungarian:jóváhagyás(hu),helyeslés(hu),egyetértés(hu)
• Norwegian:godkjennelse
• Romanian:aprobare(ro)f
• Russian:одобре́ние(ru)n(odobrénije)
• Spanish:aprobación(es)f
• Ukrainian:схва́ленняn(sxválennja),апроба́ція(uk)f(aprobácija)

See also

• approbationon Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Further reading

• “approbation”,inWebster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary,Springfield, Mass.:G. & C. Merriam,1913,→OCLC.
• “approbation”,inThe Century Dictionary[…],New York, N.Y.:The Century Co.,1911,→OCLC.
• “approbation”,inOneLook Dictionary Search.

French

Etymology

BorrowedfromEcclesiastical Latinapprobātiōnem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):/a.pʁɔ.ba.sjɔ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

approbationf(pluralapprobations)

1. approval(permission)

Related terms

• approbateur

Further reading

• “approbation”,inTrésor de la langue française informatisé[Digitized Treasury of the French Language],2012.