affect

affect
\ \ There are two distinct verbs affect in English: ‘simulate insincerely’ [15] and ‘have an effect on’ [17]; but both come ultimately from the same source, Latin afficere. Of compound origin, from the prefix ad- ‘to’ and faceredo’, this had a wide range of meanings. One set, in reflexive use, was ‘apply oneself to something’, and a new verb, affectāre, was formed from its past participle affectus, meaning ‘aspire or pretend to have’. Either directly or via French affecter, this was borrowed into English, and is now most commonly encountered in the past participle adjective affected and the derived noun affectation. Another meaning of afficere was ‘influence’, and this first entered English in the 13th century by way of its derived noun affectiō, meaning ‘a particular, usually unfavourable disposition’ – hence affection. The verb itself was a much later borrowing, again either through French or directly from the Latin past participle affectus.
\ \ Cf.FACT

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • affect — [ afɛkt ] n. m. • 1908; all. Affekt; a. fr. et XVIe « état, disposition »; du lat. affectus, comme l all. ♦ Psychol. État affectif élémentaire. Les sensations et les affects. ● affect nom masculin (allemand Affekt) Processus de décharge de l… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • affect — simulate, *assume, pretend, feign, counterfeit, sham affect 1 Affect, influence, touch, impress, strike, sway are more or less closely synonymous when they mean to produce or to have an effect upon a person or upon a thing capable of a reaction.… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Affect — Af*fect , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Affected}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Affecting}.] [L. affectus, p. p. of afficere to affect by active agency; ad + facere to make: cf. F. affectere, L. affectare, freq. of afficere. See {Fact}.] 1. To act upon; to produce an …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • affect — affect, effect 1. These two words are often confused. It should be remembered that effect is most common as a noun meaning ‘a result or consequence’ • (In England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever Oscar Wilde) and that affect… …   Modern English usage

  • affect — Ⅰ. affect [1] ► VERB 1) make a difference to; have an effect on. 2) touch the feelings of. DERIVATIVES affecting adjective. USAGE Affect and effect are frequently confused …   English terms dictionary

  • affect — I verb act on, adficere, bear upon, cause to alter, cause to vary, change, commovere, conduce, exert influence, have an effect upon, have influence, impress, induce, influence, introduce a change, make a change, play a direct part, prevail upon,… …   Law dictionary

  • affect — [v1] influence, affect emotionally act on, alter, change, disturb, impinge, impress, induce, influence, inspire, interest, involve, modify, move, overcome, perturb, prevail, regard, relate, stir, sway, touch, transform, upset; concepts… …   New thesaurus

  • affect — affect1 [ə fekt′; ] for n. [ 2, af′ekt΄] vt. [ME affecten < L affectare, to strive after < affectus, pp. of afficere, to influence, attack < ad , to + facere, DO1] 1. to have an effect on; influence; produce a change in [bright light… …   English World dictionary

  • Affect — Af*fect ([a^]f*f[e^]kt ), n. [L. affectus.] 1. Affection; inclination; passion; feeling; disposition. [Obs.] Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. (Psychotherapy) The emotional complex associated with an idea or mental state. In hysteria, the affect is… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • affect — affect, affective, affectivity An affect is an emotion. In sociology the use of the term generally implies that an action is being or has been carried out for emotional gratification. For example, in their discussion of Class Awareness in the… …   Dictionary of sociology

  • Affect — (v. lat.), schnell entstehende, lebhafte, ein bemerkliches Streben durch Aufhebung des Gleichgewichts im Gemüth hervorbringende, auf die Functionen des Geistes u. Körpers sichtbaren Einfluß habende Gemüthsbewegung. A. entsteht, wenn eine… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

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