agree

/əˈɡriː/·verb·14th century·Established

Origin

Agree comes from Old French agreer, 'to receive with favour', from Latin grātus meaning 'pleasing'.‌​‌​‌​‍​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‍​‌​‍​‍​‍​‍​‍​‍​‍​‍​‌​‌​‌​‍​‍​‌​‌​‌​‍​‍​‍​‍​‌ To agree originally meant to find something to your liking, not to share an opinion.

Definition

To have the same opinion; to consent or be willing to do something.‌​‌​‌​‍​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‍​‌​‍​‍​‍​‍​‍​‍​‍​‍​‌​‌​‌​‍​‍​‌​‌​‌​‍​‍​‍​‍​‌

Did you know?

Agree, grace, grateful, and congratulate all descend from the same Latin root grātus meaning 'pleasing'. When you agree with someone, you are etymologically saying that their position pleases you. When you congratulate, you share in their grace.

Etymology

Old French14th centurywell-attested

From Old French agreer meaning 'to receive with favour, to please', from the phrase à gré meaning 'to one's liking', from à ('to') + gré ('pleasure, goodwill'), from Latin grātum meaning 'pleasing, agreeable', the neuter of grātus meaning 'thankful, pleasing'. The Proto-Indo-European root is *gʷerH- meaning 'to praise, to welcome'. The original sense was not about shared opinion but about something being pleasing or acceptable. To agree was to find something to your liking. The shift to mutual consent came later, from the idea that two people both finding something pleasing naturally leads to accord. Key roots: grātus (Latin: "pleasing, thankful").

Ancient Roots

This Word in Other Languages

agréer(French)grato(Italian)grado(Spanish)

Agree traces back to Latin grātus, meaning "pleasing, thankful". Across languages it shares form or sense with French agréer, Italian grato and Spanish grado, evidence of a shared etymological family.

Connections

See also

agree on Merriam-Webstermerriam-webster.com
agree on Wiktionaryen.wiktionary.org
Proto-Indo-European rootsproto-indo-european.org

Background

Origins

Agreement is, at its etymological heart, pleasure.‌​‌​‌​‍​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‍​‌​‍​‍​‍​‍​‍​‍​‍​‍​‌​‌​‌​‍​‍​‌​‌​‌​‍​‍​‍​‍​‌ The word comes from Old French agreer, meaning 'to receive with favour', built from the phrase à gré — 'to one's liking'. The gré element descends from Latin grātus, 'pleasing' or 'thankful'.

This Latin root is among the most prolific in English. Grace is the quality of being pleasing. Grateful means full of grātus. Gratitude is the state of thankfulness. A gratuity is a gift of thanks. To congratulate is to share in someone's good fortune — literally 'to be pleased together with'.

Development

The shift from 'finding something pleasing' to 'holding the same opinion' happened gradually in English. If two parties both find a proposal to their liking, they agree. The grammatical construction preserves this: we agree to terms (find them acceptable) and agree with people (find their views pleasing).

The word disagreeable retains the oldest sense most clearly. A disagreeable person is not one who holds different opinions — they are simply unpleasant. Not pleasing. Not grātus.

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