accept 
to accept a bill of exchange, that is, to acknow- 
ledge the obligation to pay it when due. See ac- 
ceptance. 7. In a deliberative body, to receive- 
as a sufficient performance of the duty with 
which an officer or a committee has been 
charged ; receive for further action : as, the 
report of the committee was accepted. = Syn. 1. 
Take, etc. See recrin: 
acceptt (ak-sepf), p. a. [< ME. accept, < L. ac- 
ccptus, pp. of accipere, accept: see accept, v.'] 
Accepted. 
In tyme accept, or wel plesynge, I haue herd thee. 
tt'yctif, 2 Cor. vi. 2. 
We will suddenly 
Pass our accept and peremptory answer. 
Shak., Hen. V., v. 2. 
[In the latter passage the word has been taken to mean 
acceptance. ] 
acceptability (ak-sep-ta-bil'i-ti), . [< accept- 
able: see -biliti/.] The quality of being accept- 
able or agreeable ; acceptableness. 
acceptable (ak-sep'ta-bl, formerly ak'sep-ta- 
bl), a. [< ME. acceptable, < L. acceptabilis, wor- 
thy of acceptance, < acceptare, receive: see 
accept.] Capable, worthy, or sure of being 
accepted or received with pleasure; hence, 
pleasing to the receiver ; gratifying; agreeable; 
welcome : as, an acceptable present. 
What acceptable audit canst thou leave 1 
Shak., Sonnets, iv. 
This woman, whom thon niad'st to be my help, . . . 
So fit, so acceptable, so divine. Milton, P. L., x. 139. 
acceptableness (ak-sep'ta-bl-nes), . Same as 
acceptability. 
acceptably (ak-sep'ta-bli), adv. In an accept- 
able manner; in a manner to please or give 
satisfaction. 
Let us have grace, whereby we may serve God accept- 
ably. Heb. xii. 28. 
acceptance (ak-sep'tans), n. [< OF. acceptance : 
see acccptant.] 1. The act of accepting, or the 
fact of being accepted, (a) The act of taking or 
receiving anything offered ; a receiving with approbation 
or satisfaction ; favorable reception. 
They shall come up with acceptance on mine altar. 
Isa. Ix. 7. 
. Such with him finds no acceptance. Milton, P. L. , v. 530. 
(6) The act of receiving and assenting to something stated 
or propounded, as a theory, etc. (c) The act of agreeing 
to terms or proposals, and thereby becoming bound. Spe- 
cifically (1) In (aw, an agreeing to the offer or contract of 
another by some act which binds the person in law. Thus, 
if a person receiving an estate in remainder takes rent on 
a lease made by his predecessor, this is an acceptance of the 
terms of the lease, and binds the party receiving to abide 
by the terms of the lease. (2) In com., an engagement, by the 
person on whom a bill of exchange is drawn, to pay the 
bill: usually made by the person writing the word "Ac- 
cepted" across the bill and signing his name, or simply 
writing his name across or at the end of the bill. Ac- 
ceptances are of three principal kinds : general or un- 
qualified, when no limiting or qualifying words are added ; 
special, when expressed as payable at some particular 
bank ; and qualified, when expressed to be for a less sum 
than that for which the bill was originally drawn, or when 
some variation in the time or mode of payment is intro- 
duced. Acceptaiice supra protest, or for honor, is accept- 
ance by some third pel-son, after protest for non-accept- 
ance by the drawee, with the view of saving the honor of 
the drawer or of some particular indorser. 
2. A bill of exchange that has been accepted, 
or the sum contained in it. 3t. The sense in 
which a word or expression is understood ; 
signification ; meaning ; acceptation. 
An assertion . . . under the common acceptance of it 
not only false but odious. South. 
Acceptance with God, in theol., forgiveness of sins and 
reception into God's favor. = Syn. Acceptance, Accept- 
ancy, Acceptation. See acceptation. 
acceptancy (ak-sep'tan-si), n. The act of ac- 
cepting ; acceptance ; willingness to receive or 
accept. 
Here's a proof of gift, 
But here's no proof, sir, of acceptancy. 
Mrs. llniirning, Aurora Leigh, ii. 1057. 
= Syn. Acceptancy, Acceptance, Acceptation. See accep- 
tation. 
acceptant (ak-sep'tant), ((. and n. [< F. ac- 
ccptant, < L. accepta'n(t-)s, ppr. of acceptare: 
see accept.'] I. a. Receptive. N. E. D. 
II. n. 1. One who accepts; an accepter. 
Specifically 2. [cap.'] One of the French bish- 
ops and clergy who accepted the bull Unigeni- 
tus, issued in 1713 by Pope Clement XI. against 
the Jansenists. 
acceptation (ak-sep-ta'shon), . [=Sp. acep- 
ciow = Pg. aceitac i u'o = It. accettazione, < L. as 
if * acceptation-), < acceptare, receive: see ac- 
cept.'] If. The act of accepting or receiving; 
reception ; acceptance : as, the acceptation of a 
trust. 
All are rewarded with like coldness of accepffiti<t. 
Sir 1'. Hianeii. 
3 
33 
2. The state of being accepted or acceptable; 
favorable regard; hence, credence ; belief. 
This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all tt>-f''i>ttitiun, 
that Christ Jesus came into tile world to save sinners. 
1 Tim. i. If,. 
Si inic things . . . are notwithstanding of so great dig- 
nity and aeetptatim with Clod. Hooker, Eccles. Pol., ii. 
[Riclmnl Cromwell) spake also with general urci'iitiitinn 
:unl ;ip|,l:iuse \\ hen lie made his speech before the 1'arlia- 
UK 'ill . even fur lieyond the Lord Kynes. 
',)"<./<// '/// L"/r,'/t, Among my Books, 1st ser., p. 261. 
3. The meaning or sense in which a word or 
statement is taken or understood : as, this term 
is to be understood in its usual acceptation. 
Genius is a word which, in common acceptation, extends 
much further than to the objects of taste. //. Blair, Lect. 
= Syn. Acceptance, Acceptancy, Acceptation. These 
words have been used interchangeably, but there is a 
marked tendency to use acceptance for the act of accept- 
ing, and acceptation for the state of being accepted, accept- 
ancy having become rare, or being restricted to poetic use. 
It is in vain to stand out against the full acceptance of 
a word which is supported by so much and so respectable 
authority. Whitney, Lang, and Study of Lang., p. 41. 
To reanimate this drooping but Divine truth of human 
regeneration, by lifting it out of its almost wholly lapsed 
and lifeless because merely ritual private acceptation, 
and giving it a grander public application. 
//. James, Subs, and Shad., p. 154. 
accepted (ak-sep'ted), p. a. 1. Acceptable; 
chosen; appointed. 
Behold, now is the accepted time ; behold, now is the 
day of salvation. 2 Cor. vi. 2. 
2. In com., received or acknowledged as bind- 
ing: often abbreviated to a. or A. See accept- 
ance, 1 (c) (2). 
accepter (ak-sep'ter), n. 1. A person who ac- 
cepts. Specifically, in cam., the person who accepts a 
bill of exchange so as to bind himself to pay the sum speci- 
fied in it. [In this specific sense most frequently written 
acceptor (which see).] 
2f. One who favors unduly ; a respecter. 
God is no accepter of persons ; neither riches nor poverty 
are a means to procure his favour. 
Chillinyworth, Sermons, iii. 33. 
acceptilate (ak-sep'ti-lat), v. t. ; pret. and pp. 
acceptilated, ppr. acceptilating. [< acceptila- 
tion.] To discharge (a debt) by acceptila- 
tion. 
acceptilation (ak-sep-ti-la'shon), n. [< L. ac- 
ceptilatio(n-), also written separately accepti 
latio(n-), a formal discharging from a debt, lit. 
a bearing of a receipt : accepti, gen. of accep- 
tum, a receipt, pp. neut. of accipere, receive 
(see accept, v.); latio(n-), a bearing, < latus, pp., 
associated with /erre = E. bear 1 : see ablative, 
and of. legislation.'] 1. In civil and Scots law, 
the verbal extinction of a verbal contract, 
with a declaration that the debt has been paid 
when it has not, or the acceptance of some- 
thing merely imaginary in satisfaction of a ver- 
bal contract. Wharton. Hence 2f. In theol., 
the free forgiveness of sins by God, for Christ's 
sake. The word (acceptilatio) was used by Duns Scotus, 
in whose writings it first appears as a theological term, to 
signify the doctrine that God accepts the sufferings of 
Christ as a satisfaction to justice, though in strictness 
they are not so, as opposed to the notion that Christ's 
sufferings were infinite, and therefore a full and actual 
satisfaction for the sins of mankind. 
Our justification which comes by Christ is by imputa- 
tion and acceptilation, by grace and favour. 
Jar. Taylor, Ans. to Bp. of Rochester. 
acceptiont (ak-sep'shon), n. [< ME. accepciown, 
<OF. acception = Sp. . acepcion = Pg. accepyao, 
< L. acceptio(n-), < accipere, receive : see accept.] 
1. Acceptation. 
The diverse acceptions of words which the schoolmen 
call suppositions effect no homonymy. 
Burnersdiciun, trans, by a Gentleman, I. xxvi. 12. 
That this hath been esteemed the due and proper de- 
ception of this word, I shall testify. 
Hammond, Fundamentals. 
2. The act of favoring unequally ; preference. 
For accepciouns of persoones, that is, to putte oon bi- 
fore another withoute desert, is not anentis God. 
Wyclif, Rom. ii. 11. 
Ready to accept. 
The people generally are very acceptive and apt to ap- 
plaud any meritable work. 
B. Jomon, Case is Altered, ii. 7. 
acceptor (ak-sep'tor or -ter), n. [After L. ac- 
ceptor, one who receives, < accipere, receive : 
see accept, v.~] Same as accepter, but more 
frequent in commercial and legal use Acceptor 
supra protest, a person, not a party to a bill of exchange 
winch lias been protested, who accepts it for the honor of 
the drawer or of an indorser, thereby agreeing to pay it if 
the drawee does not. 
acceptress (ak-sep'tres), . A female acceptor. 
[Rare.] 
accerset (ak-sers'), r. t. [<L. accersere, com- 
monly itrfi-x.ifiT (prefix ar-, < ad-, to), summon, 
cause to come, < accedere, come : see accede.] 
acceptivet (ak-sep'tiv), a. 
accession 
To call out or forth; summon, as an army. 
Hull. [Rare.] 
access (ak'ses, formerly ak-ses'), . [< ME. 
iii-/'i's, aknis, uses (nearly always in sense 5), 
< OF. acces (also spelled aces, acex, aches, axces), 
approach, attack, F. acce* = Sp. acceso = Pg. 
It. itccesso, <L. accessits, approach, passage, in- 
crease, < accedere, go to: see accerfe.] 1. A 
coming to ; near approach ; admittance ; admis- 
sion : as, to gain access to a prince. 
We are denied accent unto his person. 
Shak., 2 Hen. IV., iv. 1. 
2. Means of approach or admission; way of 
entrance or passage to anything : as, the access 
is through a massive door or a long corridor, or 
by a neck of land. 
All access was throng'd. Hilton, P. L., i. 781. 
Then closed her access to the wealthier farms. 
Tennymn, Aylmer's Field. 
3. Admission to sexual intercourse. 
During coverture access of the husband shall be pre- 
sumed, unless the contrary be shown. Hlackstone. 
4. Addition; increase; accession. 
I, from the influence of thy looks, receive 
Access in every virtue. Milton, P. L., ix. 310. 
5. The attack or return of a fit or paroxysm of 
disease, as of a fever ; accession. 
Every wight gan waxen for accesse 
A leche anon. Chaucer, Troilus, ii. 1578. 
The first access looked like an apoplexy. 
Up. Burnet, Hist, of Own Times. 
The most efficient and certain means for stimulating the 
cerebral cortex, in order to provoke an epileptic access, 
is electrization. Alien, and Neurol., VI. 8. 
6. The approach of the priest to the altar for 
the purpose of celebrating the eucharist. 7. 
In canon law, a right to a certain benefice at 
some future time, now in abeyance through 
lack of required age or some other conditions : 
if in abeyance through actual possession of 
another, it is equivalent to the right of succes- 
sion. See coadjutor. Ingress is a right, in virtue of 
some previous stipulation, to a benefice resigned before 
entered upon ; regress, to a benefice actually renounced. 
The Council of Trent and succeeding popes abolished 
such titles, as tending to make benefices hereditary ; since 
then they have existed in Koman Catholic countries only 
in particular instances and by a special pontifical privilege. 
Prayer Of humble access, a prayer said by the cele- 
brant in his own behalf and in that of the people before 
communicating. In the Koman Catholic and Greek litur- 
gies it is used shortly before the communion of the priest. 
In the present Book of Common Prayer it precedes the 
Consecration. 
accessarily, accessariness, etc. See accesso- 
rili/, accessor! ness, etc. 
accessary (ak-ses'a-ri or ak'ses-a-ri), n. [< L. 
as if *accessarius, Haccessxs, access: see access. 
Now mixed with accessor;/, a. and n. Strictly 
the noun (a person) should be accessary, the 
adj. (and noun, a thing) accessory; but the dis- 
tinction is too fine to be maintained. See -ary, 
-on/.] Same as accessor//. 
accessibility (ak-ses-i-b'il'i-ti), n. [=F. ac- 
ccssibilite = It. accessibility, < LL. accessibili- 
t<i(t-)s, < accessibilis, accessible: see accessible.] 
The condition or quality of being accessible, or 
of admitting approach. 
accessible (ak-ses'i-bl), a. [=F. accessible = 
Sp. accesible = Pg. accessivel = It. accessibile, 
< LL. accessibilis, accessible, < L. accessus, pp. of 
accedere, go to, approach : see accede. ] Capa- 
ble of being approached or reached ; easy of 
access ; approachable ; attainable : as, an ac- 
cessible town or mountain ; the place is accessi- 
ble by a concealed path. 
Most tmnkly accessible, most affable, . . . most sociable. 
Barrow, Works, I. 260. 
Proofs accessible to all the world. 
Buckle, Hist. Civilization, I. i. 
accessibly (ak-ses'i-bli), adv. In an accessi- 
ble manner ; so as to be accessible. 
accession (ak-sesh'on), n. [= F. accession, < OF. 
accessioun = Sp. dccesion = Pg. accessSo = It. 
accessione, < L. accessio(n-\ a going to, an ap- 
proach, attack, increase, < accessits, pp. of ac- 
cedere, go to: see accede."] 1. A coming, as 
into the possession of a right or station ; attain- 
ment; entrance; induction: as, the accession 
of the people to political power, or to the ballot ; 
accession to an estate, or to the throne. 
The king, at his accession, takes an oath to maintain all 
the rights, liberties, franchises, and customs, written or 
unwritten. J. Adams, Works, IV. 370. 
2. The act of acceding, as by assent or agree- 
ment ; consent ; junction ; adhesion : as, acccs- 
siun to a demand or proposal ; their accession 
to the party or confederacy was a great gain. 
Drrlaring their acquiescence in. and accession to the 
determination made by Congress. 
S. William*, Hist. Vermont, p. 283. (JV. E. D.) 
