▪ I. concern, v.
(kənˈsɜːn)
Also 5 conserne, 6–7 -cerne, 7 -cearn.
[ad. med.L. concernĕre and F. concerner (15th c. in Littré), ad. L. concernĕre, f. con- + cernĕre to sift, separate, distinguish, discern, perceive, see, look at, regard, have respect to. The L. lexicons quote concernĕre only from Augustine in the sense ‘to mix, mingle together in order to sift’; but in med.L. it was evidently an intensive of cernĕre in various senses (cf. sense 1 below), esp. in that of ‘regard, have respect or reference to’ (= L. spectāre), in which it is quoted by Du Cange from the Laws of Majorca, c 1300, and from an Eng. charter of 1406. It is found in the modern Romanic langs. in the same sense from early times: cf. It. conˈcernere, Sp. concerner in Florio and Minsheu.]
† I. 1. To distinguish, discern, perceive. Obs.
| c 1450 Lydg. Lyf of our Ladye E iij/2 (R. suppl.), God that is eterne The trouthe of thynges clerely can conserne. 1589 Nashe Almond for Parrot 18 a, The true children of God can not tell how to concerne them [the wicked]. |
II. 2. a. trans. To have relation or reference to; to refer to, relate to; to be about.
| 1526 Tindale Acts xxviii. 31 Teachynge those thinges which concerned the lorde Jesus. 1586 Cogan Haven Health i. (1636) 7 The place where exercise is to bee used doth chiefly concerne the aire. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iv. i. 30 Say on (my Lord of Westmorland) in peace, What doth concern your coming. 1631 Gouge God's Arrows iii. Ep. Ded. 5/2 The principal points herein handled..concerne Prayer. 1632 Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 67, I will, that shee bee yours for as much as concernes me. 1841–4 Emerson Ess. Wks. I. 99 Prudence concerns the present time, persons, property, and existing forms. |
† b. To belong; to appertain. Obs. rare.
| 1658 S. Richardson Form. Hell in Phenix II. 450, I appeal to the learned in the languages, for to them concerneth the decision of the signification of words. |
c. as concerns (= as it concerns): with regard to; in reference to; as respects.
| 1872 Morley Voltaire (1886) 21 As concerns their demands. 1873 F. Hall Mod. Eng. 50 As concerns a substantive, its subjective genitive, universally..may be expressed prepositively. |
3. To affect (things, or persons passively); to have a bearing or influence on; to involve.
| [1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 237 b, Some lawes perteyneth onely to London, whiche onely byndeth the same Cite, and concerneth nothynge Yorke or Brystowe.] 1586 Thynne in Holinshed II. 405 Such things as..concerne the honour of the Scotish nation. 1662 Evelyn Chalcogr. (1769) 24 His [Adam's] unhappy fall did so much concern his rare and infused habits. [1701 W. Wotton Hist. Rome vi. 87 This war equally concerns us all.] |
4. a. To be of importance to; to be the concern or business of. (Often with quasi-impers. const., the subject being a phrase or clause.)
| 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. i. i. 78 It concernes me To looke into the bottome of my place. 1604 ― Oth. i. iii. 22 Th'importancie of Cyprus to the Turke..it more concernes the Turke then Rhodes. 1667 Milton P.L. vii. 82 Things above Earthly thought, which yet concernd Our knowing. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 290 ¶1 Domestick Virtues concern all the World. 1732 Pope Hor. Sat. ii. ii. 165 If the use be mine, can it concern one, Whether the name belong to Pope or Vernon? 1818 Jas. Mill Brit. India III. vi. i. 17 Here is a picture! It concerns my countrymen to contemplate well the features of it. 1869 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) III. xii. 249 A quarrel which concerned neither himself nor his country. |
† b. absol. or intr. To be of importance, to matter. Also with unto. Obs.
| 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. ii. 147 Trip and goe my sweete, deliuer this Paper into the hand of the King, it may concerne much. 1591 ― Two Gent. ii. ii. 77 Madam, it will not lye where it concerns, Vnlesse it haue a false Interpreter. ― 1 Hen. VI, v. iii. 116 Why what concernes his freedome vnto mee? 1679 Sir T. Browne Wks. (1882) III. 463 If places bee sould or given by favor only, such virtues will concerne butt contingently. |
c. Phr. to whom it may concern: a formulaic phrase used of a statement, testimonial, etc.
| 1868 Dickens Let. 26 Apr. (1960) 281 The Russia is a magnificent ship... To whom it may concern, report the Russia in the highest terms. 1924 Amer. Mercury I. 343/2 In W. W. Western's ‘To Whom It May Concern: A Poem on the Times’ Byron's manner and method are put to queer uses. |
† 5. trans. To engage the attention of; to affect with consideration, care, or solicitude; to trouble. Obs. in active.
| c 1592 Marlowe Jew Malta i. ii, Now, then, here know that it concerneth us. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. iii. ii. 87 Which to deny, concernes more than auailes. 1641 Bp. Hall Via Media Rem. Wks. (1660) 374 These opinions, which have no reason to concern us. 1749 R. Goadby B.M. Carew 174 This greatly surpriz'd and concerned Mr. Carew. |
† 6. a. To bring into relation, cause to have a part or share in; to engage, implicate, mix up. Obs. in active.
| 1676 Marvell Mr. Smirke 18 To concern the Author in the Non-Conformists, that may have reflected any where. 1678 Cudworth Intell. Syst. i. iii. 150 Those mechanick Theists..Affect to concern the Deity as little as possible in mundane affairs. 1679 E. Everard Prot. Princes Europe 11 France made its Treaty..with the House of Austria, without concerning the Grisons therein. |
b. refl. to concern oneself: to interest oneself with, in, about, to do a thing; to engage, take up, or trouble oneself; to take or have any concern.
| 1634 tr. Balzac's Lett. 365 One concerning itselfe in this sort. 1676 C. Hatton in Hatton Corr. (1878) 129 Hee doth of late more publickly concerne himself in state affairs. 1682 Dryden Rel. Laici Pref., I ought not to have concerned myself with [such] speculations. 1712 Hearne Collect. (Oxf. H. Soc.) III. 485 I will not concern myself in this Affair. a 1716 South Serm. (J.), Providence..concerns itself to own and assert the interests of religion. 1791 Cowper Comm. Milton Wks. 1837 XV. 336 There is nothing about which the heart of man concerns itself so little. 1883 Froude Short Stud. IV. iii. 270 Celsus..was a man..unlikely to concern himself with vice and folly. |
7. In the imperative = ‘Confound!’ cf. concerned 3. dial.
| 1803 J. Davis Trav. U.S. x. 384 Concern it, Dinah, says I, why if you was to eat all the good things what would there be left for me? 1832 J. P. Kennedy Swallow B. II. xvii. 222 ‘Consarn his pictur!’ said Jeff. 1844 ‘Jon. Slick’ High Life N.Y. I. 107 Somehow that tarnal Count, consarn him, put me all out on my natural reckoning. a 1852 F. M. Whitcher Widow Bedott P. (1883) i. 8 He only said, says he, ‘Consarn it.’ 1877 N.W. Lincolnsh. Gloss., Consarn you, an objurgation equivalent to ‘confound you’. Also in G. F. Jackson Shropsh. Word-bk., Gloss. of Leicester, Cheshire, etc. |
III. Passive, to be concerned.
This occurs in some senses which are non-existent or obsolete in the active; in other senses it is much more used than the active.
† 8. To be under the responsibility or obligation; to have it as one's business. Obs. (Cf. 4.)
| 1652 Needham Selden's Mare Cl. 125 Princes are concerned to bee warie and careful, that they admit no such strangers..where..the Commmon-weal may receiv any damage thereby. 1659 Burton's Diary (1828) IV. 457 That gentleman will be concerned to name them in a fitter season. 1735 J. Price Stone Br. Thames 16, I shall think myself concern'd to pursue my Thoughts upon this Subject. |
9. To feel interested, to be solicitous, to care. (Cf. 5.)
| 1664–5 Ld. Windsor in Hatton Corr. (1878) 46 Without letting Sir Charles Lytleton know I am att all concearned for it. 1671 Sir C. Lyttleton Ibid. 63, I had a letter..from one a little concerned to have it so. a 1687 Petty Pol. Arith. iv. (1691) 77 The said Ten being not concerned to increase their Territory. 1722 De Foe Plague (1756) 151 We are concern'd to tell you of it. 1734 Berkeley Analyst §20, I am not concerned about the truth of your theorems. 1876 Geo. Eliot Dan. Der. I. 268, I am not concerned to tell of the food that was eaten in that green refectory. |
10. a. To be troubled or distressed either with anxiety, or sorrow for misfortune. (Cf. 5.)
| a 1674 Clarendon Surv. Leviath. (1676) 249 He is not concern'd, if the King forbids him to believe in Christ. 1693 Col. Rec. Penn. I. 414, I..am Concerned to see the time goe away and nothing done. 1712 Hearne Collect. (Oxf. Hist. Soc.) III. 479 I am concern'd at this Proceeding, and indeed take it very unkindly. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones Wks. (1775) III. 106 I never was more concerned at any thing in my life. 1805 Wellington in Owen Disp. 518 The Governor-General is concerned to state that neither of the other attacks succeeded. 1858 J. Martineau Studies Chr. 73 We are concerned that any Christian divine can so torture and desecrate the names of virtue. |
† b. Used of physical distress. Obs.
| 1713 Derham Phys.-Theol. 5 foot-note, In one..Compressing Engine I closely shut up a sparrow, without forcing any Air in; and in less than an Hour the Bird began to pant, and be concerned. |
11. a. To be in a relation of practical connexion with; to have to do with; to have a part or share in; to be engaged in, with († against). (Cf. 6.)
| a 1680 Butler Rem. (1759) II. 311 Those, that are concerned in one another's Love..are never quiet, but always catterwalling. 1699 Bentley Phal. Pref. 15 Any Body, that has ever been concern'd in a Patent. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 1 ¶9 Those Gentlemen who are concerned with me in this Work. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones xii. x, An attorney may feel all the miseries and distresses of his fellow creatures, provided he happens not to be concerned against them. 1836 Prichard Phys. Hist. Man. (ed. 3) I. 275 The inquiry with which I am now concerned. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 224 Music is concerned with harmony and rhythm. 1884 Gladstone in Standard 29 Feb. 2/4 Persons prominently concerned in conducting the affairs of the country. |
b. esp. To be implicated, or involved in, to have to do with (anything culpable).
| 1686 Col. Rec. Penn. I. 176 Under suspition of being Carnally concerned with a Woman Servt. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 260 ¶1 Intrigues which no one will believe I ever was concerned in. 1717 Col. Rec. Penn. III. 21 Some of their men were concern'd in the killing of the sd. Catamba Indians. 1802 M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. xv. 122 Accused of being concerned in a riot. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 663 Among the persons concerned in the Rye House plot. |
12. a. Of things: To be involved or engaged in any action.
| 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §125 All delays were dangerous, in a case where winds and tides were concerned. 1831 Brewster Optics iv. 34 The small part of any curved surface..which is concerned in refracting it, may be regarded as a plane. 1846 Mill Logic Introd. §7 There are other more elementary processes, concerned in all thinking. |
b. To be involved in a risk; to be at stake.
| 1700 Dryden Pref. Fables Wks. (Globe) 501 The honour of their order is concerned in every member of it. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones xviii. vii, A secret in which her honour, and consequently her life, was concerned. 1862 W. Collins No Name iv. 5 My honour is concerned in bowling out Mrs. Lecount. |
13. To be under relations of any kind; to be affected, or liable to be affected. (Cf. 2, 3.)
| 1794 Burke Rep. Lords' Jrnls. Wks. 1842 II. 627 In such a cause the state itself is highly concerned in the event. 1810 Wellington in Gurw. Disp. V. 542 What has passed in Parliament respecting me, has not given me one moment's concern as far as I am personally concerned. 1862 Ruskin Munera P. (1880) 32 As far as he is himself concerned the capitalist takes..a more interesting aspect. 1882 J. H. Blunt Ref. Ch. Eng. II. 253 A matter in which religious duty and public policy were concerned. |
▪ II. concern, n.
(kənˈsɜːn)
[f. prec. vb.: the relation of sense between the vb. and n. corresponded originally to that between vb. and n. in regard, respect. There is no corresponding n. in Fr.
The use of concern instead of concernment in R. Boyle's Parthenissa was thus censured in 1655 by Dorothy Osborne, Lett. li. (1888) 238, ‘Another fault I find, too, in the style—'tis affected..My concern or of great concern is, it seems [i.e. to Boyle], properer than concernment’.]
I. A relation objective or subjective.
† 1. a. Regard, respect, reference; concernment. in that concern: in regard or respect to that. Obs.
| 1589 Jas. VI in Ellis Orig. Lett. i. 228. III. 29 We..desyring you to interpone your gud will..to thair expeditcoun and furtherance in that concerne. 1667 H. More Div. Dial. v. iv. (1713) 409, I would not exclude the Persian from the Concern of this sixth Vial. 1694 Acc. Sev. Late Voy. i. (1711) 96 Men of good observation to inspect into matters of this Concern. |
b. Relation; concernment.
| 1862 Stanley Jew. Ch. (1877) I. iv. 73 It is connected with every stage of the Sacred History; but its special concern is with the period preceding the Exodus. |
2. of concern: of relation to some one; esp. of important relation, of importance, of interest.
| 1655 [see note in Etymol.]. 1666 Sir J. Talbot in Slingsby's Diary (1836) 369 He hath some affaires of Concerne to you to acquaint you of. 1674 Allen Danger Enthus. 27 Those things which in their nature were of common concern unto all. 1682 Bunyan Holy War 203 So he has writ himself in all papers of concern, wherein he has had to do. 1697 Collier Ess. Mor. Subj. ii. To Rdr. (1709) 4 A Cause of Concern ought to be pleaded to Advantage. 1712 Arbuthnot John Bull (1727) 78 Truly this is a matter of some concern. 1869 Haddan Apost. Success. iii. (1879) 57 A truth of deep concern to men's souls. |
3. a. A relation of practical intercourse with (anyone). pl. Transactions, business relations.
| 1699 Bentley Phal. 98 He had concerns with the Mamertines of Messana. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones Wks. (1775) III. 129, I know Mr. Nightingale..and have formerly had concerns with him. 1790 Cowper Odyss. iii. 90 Come ye to transact concerns Commercial? 1807 Crabbe Par. Reg. ii. 224 In all concerns was Stephen just and true. |
b. to have no concern (formerly concerns) with: to have nothing to do with.
| 1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. round World Pref. 26 He often declared that he would have no concerns with me when we came to sea. 1846 Mill Logic i. iii. §7 We have no concern here with this controversy. a 1862 Buckle Civiliz. (1873) III. v. 464 The process, being ideal, has no concern either with observations or experiments. 1876 Freeman Norm. Conq. I. 359 With these rulers of Bernicia I have no concern. |
4. a. A relation of connexion or active interest in an act or affair; interest, share, position of being concerned in; as, to have a concern in.
| 1720 Waterland Eight Serm. 102 The Son's concern in the Work of Creation. 1805 Wellington in Owen Disp. 511 The Acting Resident did not suspect that..Scindiah had any concern in this outrage. 1814 Scott Wav. xliii, How many gentlemen..took a concern in the..undertaking of 1745. 1835 Ure Philos. Manuf. 302 Motives of humanity had not the smallest concern in the business. |
† b. A financial or commercial interest or share.
| 1748 Richardson Clarissa (1811) VII. 284 He has a concern in a ship, which will sail in a month. 1762–71 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1786) V. 170 He appears too to have had some concern in a manufacture of tapestry. |
5. a. Interest, solicitous regard, solicitude, anxiety; anxious, uneasy, or troubled state of mind, arising from regard to or interest in any person or thing. (Viewed as a condition that one is in or under, a sentiment that one has, shows, etc.)
| 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 709 Without concern he hears..Of..distant war. 1704 Swift Batt. Bks. (1711) 243 Jove, in great Concern, convokes a Council in the Milky-Way. 1707 J. Logan in Pa. Hist. Soc. Mem. X. 214 During their absence, I was under the greatest concern of mind that ever I knew in my life. 1768 Sterne Sent. Journ., The Postillion, The concern which the poor fellow's story threw me into. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. iii. 28 I noticed an expression of concern upon his countenance. 1877 Mozley Univ. Serm. iv. 83 Deep concern for human souls. |
b. (with a and pl.) ? Obs.
| 1692 Dryden St. Evremont's Ess. 101 If so be what is said of us be false, so soon as we shew a concern at it, we make it suspected for Truth. 1713 Addison Cato i. v, O Marcia, let me hope thy kind concerns And gentle wishes follow me to battel! 1769 Junius' Lett. i. 2 Every man who pretends to a concern for the public welfare. |
c. Among Quakers, a conviction of the divine will.
| 1707 in Pennsylvania Hist. Soc. Mem. X. 214 During their absence, I was under the greatest concern of mind that ever I knew in my life. 1772 A. Hunter Let. 18 Mar. in Fithian's Jrnl. & Lett. (1900) 22 Our orations are put off lest they should do some harm to some under concern. 1838 J. F. Cooper Home as Found xvi, ‘Have you heard that Grace is under concern?’..‘Not under the church parson's, I'll engage; no one ever heard of a real..conversion under his ministery.’ 1875 Mrs. Stowe We & Neighbors xv. 172 If your friend Sibyl should have a ‘concern’ laid on her for your Mr. St. John, she would tell him some wholesome truths. 1933 A. N. Whitehead Adv. Ideas xi. 178 Thus the Quaker word ‘concern’..is more fitted to express this fundamental structure. The occasion as subject has a ‘concern’ for the object. 1949 Friend 17 June 495/2 Love (as God loves, not as man loves) for other people, linked with a sense of responsibility—not such responsibility as John Smith can feel but as God's hands and feet can feel—that is ‘concern’. 1966 E. H. Jones Margery Fry v. 46 She did not..experience in Meeting or elsewhere that spiritual communion which was supposed to nourish ‘concerns’. |
II. A matter that concerns.
6. a. A matter or subject that relates or appertains to some person or thing, an affair. † general concern or public concern: the commonwealth, res publica.
| 1707 Freind Peterborow's Cond. Sp. 174 To lay down my Life..if my preservation were not of greater use to the General concern. 1770 Langhorne Plutarch (1879) I. 200 He saw what an important concern the administration was. 1794 Godwin Cal. Williams 219 Zealous as she was for the public concern. 1806–7 J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) iii. Conclus., I have.. neglected almost every other concern in trying to find it out. |
b. pl. Affairs.
| 1675 Ogilby Brit. 46 The Hall in which are Heard all Concerns in Law. 1691 Wood Ath. Oxon. II. 84 He often inspected the Accompts of his sister..and had a great care of her concerns. 1718 Freethinker No. 87. 226 The least Judgment or Discretion in the Common Concerns of Life. 1729 Butler Serm. Wks. 1874 II. 50 That strong inclination most have to be talking of the concerns..of their neighbour. 1813 Wellington in Gurw. Disp. XI. 107, I can interfere in no manner whatever in the internal concerns of the country. 1829 Southey O. Newman vi, Of needful things and every-day concerns. 1872 Morley Voltaire (1886) 28 The application of individual energy and thought to public concerns. |
7. a. A matter or subject that affects or touches one, and that ought to engage one's active interest and attention. esp. with possessive, my concern: my business, a matter affecting me, or in which I have ground of interference.
| a 1700 Dryden (J.), 'Tis all mankind's concern that he should live. 1732 Law Serious C. xxiv. (ed. 2) 489 Which are the common and greatest concern of all Christians. 1790 Burke Fr. Rev. 17 That is their concern. 1850 Herschel Stud. Nat. Phil. ii. vii. (1851) 215 Their performance, in many cases, becomes a national concern. 1833 H. Martineau Manch. Strike i. 9 What concern is it of yours? 1883 G. Lloyd Ebb & Flow II. 287 It is no concern of mine. |
b. Hence, A subject that does excite one's interest, attention, and care; a subject about which one concerns himself. (Cf. 5.)
| a 1831 A. Knox Rem. (1844) I. 71 To keep his own vineyard was his first and great concern. 1888 M. Morris Claverhouse vi. 89 But it was the work he had been set to do; and his concern was only to execute it as completely as possible. |
8. pl. a. Things that belong to one; belongings. Obs. b. Things appertaining to any work, appurtenances. rare. c. Persons belonging to one; ‘relations’, relatives. Sc. dial.
| 1693 Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) III. 321 That afternoon he removed his concerns out of the office. 1818 B. O'Reilly Greenland 236 Nor were the concerns for scientific observation overlooked. 1818 Edin. Mag. 330 (Jam.) They appeared to their nearest relations (in the Scottish language concerns) and declared to them their state. |
† 9. A property, an estate. Now dial.
| 1787 Grose Provinc. Gloss., Concern, a little estate. 1877 Holderness Gloss., Consahn, an estate, a property. ‘Ah've bowt a nice consahn at Hedon.’ |
10. A business organization; a business, a firm; a commercial or manufacturing establishment.
So long as a partnership firm consists of the original partners, it is called first concern; on a change in the firm, occurring by the retirement or accession of any partner, or by change of position among the partners, it is called second concern; so third, fourth concern, etc.
| 1681 A. Yarranton Eng. Improv. ii. 159 If Things in the Iron Concern are as you say, the whole Country suffers much by it. 1800 Wellington in Owen Disp. 722 [They] can no longer be considered as the agents of a commercial concern. 1857 C. Brontë Professor I. ii. 22 A dense, permanent vapour brooded over this locality—there lay Edward's ‘Concern’. 1866 Crump Banking i. 32 The bank received back its own with interest, and subsequently became a flourishing concern. 1885 Law Rep. 29 Chanc. Div. 463 The directors did not..know that the concern was going to fail. |
11. famil. A material contrivance or object; esp. one that is complicated or cumbrous: usually with some amount of depreciation (esp. if applied to a person); cf. affair, article, thing.
| 1824 A. Constable Let. 2 Aug. in Corr. J. Constable (1962) 216 Mary sends the greys..to take her into the street by which means Ann has the first ride in the new concern. 1834 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. I. 12 A steel-pen, which is a very unpliable concern. 1842 S. Lover Handy Andy xvi, A tin concern, something like a chimney-cowl. 1856 Kane Arct. Expl. I. xxvii. 359 A moment's check would plunge the whole concern into the rapid tide-way. 1856 Mrs. Stowe Dred I. i. 16 No, I'm not, Harry; I am a selfish little concern. 1873 J. H. Beadle Undevel. West xxix. 636 The two old men..with their butcher knives hacked out two concerns, which might serve in a rude fashion for oars. 1889 ‘C. E. Craddock’ Broomsedge Cove xii. 224 The old doctor, ez seems to be a good, useful kind o' consarn. |
12. An ‘affair’ not more definitely characterized; e.g. an intrigue, disturbance, etc. Now chiefly dial.
| 1690 J. Wilson Belphegor (Dram. Restoration 296) It is not long since I had a concern with a signiora. 1877 N.W. Lincolnsh. Gloss., Consarn, an intrigue. ‘They'd a consarn together for years, an' he'd two bairns by her.’ 1877 Holderness Gloss., ‘It's a queer consahn that of awd Smith and his men.’ 1888 W. Somerset Word-bk., Concern, row, quarrel, disturbance. ‘There was a pretty consarn sure 'nough, last night.’ |