acquiescence
UK[ˌækwiˈesns]US[ˌækwiˈesns]
n
the act of accepting or agreeing to something, often unwillingly, without arguing or protesting.
n
passive acceptance or submission.
Morpheme Breakdown
ac
quiesce
ence
ac
quiesce
ence
Etymology
the word "acquiescence" has a journey from quiet rest to silent agreement. its core is the latin verb quiescere, "to rest or be quiet", itself derived from quies, meaning "quiet, rest, peace". the prefix ad- (here assimilated to ac-) adds the sense of "to" or "towards". thus, the literal sense in latin was "to come to rest, to become quiet". in english, this evolved from the physical notion of settling down to the metaphorical sense of allowing matters to rest by not objecting. the suffix -ence then nominalizes this action, forming a word that encapsulates the state of passive acceptance or reluctant compliance without protest.
Analysis
Structure: ac + quiesce + ence
- ac (prefix): from latin ad-, meaning "to, towards". a variant of ad- assimilated before 'q'.
- quiesce (root): from latin quiescere, meaning "to rest, be quiet, lie still".
- ence (suffix): from latin -entia, forming nouns of state or quality, equivalent to english -ence.
Examples
his silence was taken as acquiescence to the proposed plan.
she nodded in weary acquiescence, too tired to argue any further.
the government interpreted the lack of public outcry as acquiescence to the new policy.