▪ I. consent, v.
(kənˈsɛnt)
Also 3 kunsenten, 3–5 concent(e, 4–6 consente.
[a. OF. cun-, consentir (3rd sing. pres. cunsent, consent) = Pr., Sp. consentir, It. consentire:—L. consentīre to feel together, agree, accord harmonize, f. con- together + sentīre to feel, think, judge, etc. The sense, ‘consent to a thing being done’ was a subsequent development, but occurs in 12th c. in Fr., and is app. the earliest recorded in Eng.: see 6. As to the spelling concent, see consent n.]
I. To agree together.
1. intr. To agree together, or with another, in opinion or statement; to be of the same mind. Obs. or arch. (The statement agreed upon may be introduced by that.)
| a 1300 Cursor M. 9713 (Gött.) Til an bihouys vs all consent, And siþen schape þe iugement. 1535 Jove Apol. Tindale 11 Henrichus Bullyngerus..consenteth with me in the signification of this worde. 1555 Eden Decades 84 If wee shal consent that vapours are lyfted vp. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. v. i. 48 All your Writers do consent, that ipse is hee. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. ii. iv. (1686) 61 With Plutarch consent many Authors. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 490 ¶1 All the wiser Part of Mankind..has consented in an Error. 1865 Bushnell Vicar. Sacr. v. (1868) 121 It may be seen how freely they consent in the testimony. |
† b. To agree to a doctrine or statement, also to the author of it; to assent. Obs.
| 1382 Wyclif Rom. vii. 16, I consente to the lawe, for [v.r. that] it is good. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 47, I Beringary concent to þe holi kirk of Rome. 1541 Elyot Image Gov. (1549) 145 Whereunto my frendes also consenten. 1562 Turner Herbal ii. 160 b, For these and other reasons I consente not unto Matthiolus. 1691 Ray Creation Ded. (1704) 3, I was sometimes compelled to consent to Cornelius Celsus. 1788 Lond. Mag. 32 This is what all must consent to who have been obliged to ride on horseback..after a hearty dinner. |
† 2. To agree in sentiment, be in accord, be at one. So pa. pple. consented, agreed. Obs.
| 1382 Wyclif Ecclus. xxv. 1 The looue of neȝhebores, and man and womman wel to themself consentende. 1611 Bible Ps. I. 18 When thou sawest a thiefe, then thou consentedst with him. 1633 Ford Broken Hrt. ii. ii. 56 'Thad been pity To sunder hearts so equally consented. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. i. vi, Much less can all men consent in the desire of almost any one and the same object. |
† 3. To come to agreement upon a matter or as to a course of action. Also pass. To be agreed.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce x. 820 Þan schir philip, þe douchty man, Tretit, quhill þai consentit weir, Þat, etc. 1546 Langley Pol. Verg. De Invent. ii. x. 53 a, The Barceans consented on their leages thus. 1668 Wilkins Real Char. i. i. §2. 2 They began by degrees..to consent in certain Articulate Sounds, whereby to communicate their thoughts. |
† 4. Of things: To agree, be in harmony. Obs.
| 1540 Morysine Vives' Introd. Wysd. K iv, Truthe ever consenteth to truth, falsehode neyther with truthe, nor yet with falsehode. 1597 Bacon Coulers Good & Evill vii. (Arb.) 147 Thinges like and consenting in qualitie. 1670 Baxter Cure Ch. Div. 349 Nor is there any man whose thoughts and affections do perfectly consent with themselves in matter and order, any two hours in all his life. a 1679 Ld. Orrery Hen. V, i, If Truth consents to what you now relate. 1794 Martyn Rousseau's Bot. (ed. 4) 292 Fifty species all consent in a quinquefid calyx. |
† 5. To act or be affected in sympathy. Obs.
| 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. iii. § 3 By means of the sensitive soul, our several distinct parts and members do consent towards the animal functions. 1744 Akenside Pleas. of Imag. i. 110 Old Memnon's image..to the quivering touch Of Titan's ray, with each repulsive string Consenting, sounded..Unbidden strains. 1756 Burke Subl. & B. iv. xi, It always made me start a little; the ear-drum suffered a convulsion, and the whole body consented with it. |
II. To agree to a proposal, request, etc.
6. Voluntarily to accede to or acquiesce in what another proposes or desires; to agree, comply, yield. Const. to, to do a thing, or that with clause; also with indirect passive to be consented to.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 272 So sone so me biginneð kunsenten to sunne. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 25/59 Ake ich ne concenti nouȝt þer-to. 1340 Ayenb. 10 Þou ne sselt naȝt consenti to do zenne mid þine bodye. 1382 Wyclif Luke xxiii. 51 He consentide not to the counceil and dedis of hem. c 1450 Merlin xiii. 195 The saisnes ne concented not to lete hym passe. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lxxxiii. 254 He wold haue consentyd to the deth of Huon. 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. iii. (1843) 77/2 This was no sooner proposed..than consented to. 1652 Gaule Magastrom. 355 It is consented to admit him again. 1655 Fuller Hist. Univ. Cambr. 122 His Holiness would never consent such Honour should be done to..a Schismatick. 1691 T. H[ale] Acc. New Invent. p. lxxi, The Conservators of the River consented, that..it should be gain'd in. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 553 Argyle, after long resistance, consented..to divide his little army. 1875 Jevons Money (1878) 238 When I induce my creditor to consent to my paying a month hence. |
b. without const.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 236 Hir frendes alle consent. c 1449 Pecock Repr. iii. xviii. 398 Y bihete or proteste or consente. 1527 R. Thorne in Hakluyt Voy. (1589) 257 The little space would not consent. 1635 Quarles Embl. i. i. (1718) 7 It is the devil's part to suggest: ours, not to consent. 1819 Byron Juan i. cxvii, A little still she strove, and much repented, And whispering ‘I will ne'er consent’ —consented. |
† c. refl. in same sense. Obs.
| 1340 Ayenb. 249 Þo he him consentede to þe uondinge. c 1500 Melusine (1889) 182, I me consent to your requeste. |
† d. Const. to a person, i.e. to his request. Obs.
| 1535 Coverdale 2 Chron. x. 16 Whan all Israel sawe that the kynge wolde not consente vnto them. 1611 Bible Gen. xxxiv. 15 In this will we consent vnto you. |
† 7. to be consented: to be agreed; to be an accessary or consenting party (to something). Obs.
| c 1386 Chaucer Doctor's T. 276 That were consented to this cursednesse. 1440 J. Shirley Dethe K. James (1818) 14 And he knewe well..and was consentid therto. c 1485 Digby Myst. (1882) iii. 1713 Ȝe ar consentyd to þat dede. |
† 8. trans. To allow, agree to, consent to. Obs.
| c 1386 Chaucer Clerk's T. 481 Grisild moot al suffer and al consent. 1481 Caxton Myrr. iii. viii. 145 This consenteth and permyseth he that is almyghty. 1534 More On the Passion Wks. 1285/2 That can I ful hardly consent. 1588 R. Parke tr. Mendoza's Hist. China, In the end..they consented a conclusion amongest themselues. |
† b. with inf. compl.
| a 1674 Milton, Interpreters..will not consent it to be a true story. |
† 9. To consent to give; to concede. Obs. rare.
| 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. iii. 90 The countee of couetise he consenteþ to boþe. |
▪ II. consent, n.
(kənˈsɛnt)
Also 4–6 concent(e, 5–6 consente.
[ME. consente, a. OF. consente, f. consentir to consent: cf. assent n.
Owing to the frequent ME. confusion of s and c (whence our mice, pence, defence, etc.), it was often spelt concent down to 16th c., and was thus liable to confusion with musical concent, when the latter word was introduced. From the approximation of sense, it is in some passages difficult to say which of the two was meant.]
1. Voluntary agreement to or acquiescence in what another proposes or desires; compliance, concurrence, permission.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 4955 (Cott.) Yee sald him þan gain mi consent. Ibid. 29136 (Cott.) Þar es steps thrin þat man mai fall wit-all in sin, egging, liging, and consent. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 349 Oo maner of consent is, whanne a man is stille & telliþ not. c 1440 York Myst. xliii. 215, I saie for me with full concente, Þi likyng all will I fulfille. 1574 tr. Littleton's Tenures 9 a, Provinge his assent and consente of such endowemente. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. i. i. 25 This man hath my consent to marrie her. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxi. 112 The Consent of a Subject to Soveraign Power. 1742 Pope Dunc. iv. 395 The Goddess smiling seem'd to give consent. 1864 Tennyson En. Ard. 709 His long wooing her, Her slow consent, and marriage. 1874 Green Short Hist. vii. §6. 409 The unanimous demand of her people wrested at last a sullen consent from the Queen. 1875 Stubbs Const. Hist. I. xiv. 143 The deliberate assent and consent of a parliament. |
| plural. 1547 Homilies i. Adultery i. (1859) 119 Our hearts pure and free from all evil thoughts, carnal desires, and fleshly consents. 1601 Shakes. All's Well v. iii. 69 The main consents are had. 1719 W. Wood Surv. Trade 259 They are not deprived without their own Consents. a 1766 F. Sheridan S. Bidulph (1767) V. 57 Parents..withhold their consents to marriages. |
† b. to be of consent: to be accessary. Obs.
| 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 74 The Pope cursed the deede doers with such as were of their consent, eyther that ayded or harboured them. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. ii. 3 Some villaines of my Court Are of consent and sufferance in this. |
c. prov. Silence gives consent. [Cf. quot. 1380 in I.]
| [1611 Cotgr. s.v. Consentir, Assez consent qui ne dit mot..(Many, who know not much more Latine, can say, Qui tacet consentire videtur.)] 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxvi. 138 Silence is sometimes an argument of Consent. 1672 Ray Proverbs, Silence gives consent. 1883 Froude Short Stud. IV. i. vii. 77 The archbishop [Becket] answered that there was a proverb in England that silence gave consent [c 1200 in Materials Hist. Becket (Rolls) I. 68 Respondit Archiepiscopus quod nostræ gentis proverbium est quod taciturnus speciem prætendit confitentis]. 1883 G. Lloyd Ebb & Flou II. 2 Well then, I take silence for consent. |
d. age of consent: the age fixed by law at which a person's consent to certain acts (e.g. marriage, sexual intercourse) is valid in law.
| [Cf. 1628 Coke On Litt. 79.] 1809 Tomlins Law Dict. s.v. Marriage, If a boy under 14 or girl under 12 years of age marries, this Marriage is only incohate and imperfect; and when either of them comes to that age, which is for this purpose termed their age of consent, they may disagree and declare the Marriage void. 1885 Times (Weekly ed.) 17 July 12/3 (Criminal Law Amendment Bill), Further provision for the protection of women and children is urgently needed..The present age of consent, which is thirteen, is altogether too low. 1891 ― 29 May 8/4 Effects of the Age of Consent Bill..The Raikwals, a most learned community of Brahmins..have..decided not to marry their daughters below the age of 12. |
2. Agreement by a number of persons as to a course of action; concert. Obsolescent exc. as in b.
| 1382 Wyclif 1 Cor. vii. 5 Nyle ȝe defraude to gidere no but perauenture of consent to a tyme. [1526–34 Tindale ibid., Withdrawe not youre selves one from another, excepte it be with consent for a tyme.] 1494 in Eng. Gilds 187 Confermed, by the assente and consente and agrement off all the Bredern off the same gilde. 1529 More Dyaloge i. Wks. 117/1 Only made by consent and agrement of men. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 460, I see the tricke on't: Heere was a consent, Knowing aforehand of our merriment, To dash it like a Christmas Comedie. 1650 Hobbes Human Nature xii. (R.), When the wills of many concur to one and the same action and effect; this concourse of their wills is called consent. 1780 Cowper Nightingale & Glow-worm, But sing and shine by sweet consent. |
b. phr. with one consent, by common consent.
| 1580 Baret Alv. C. 1069 All they, with one accord, or consent [omnes vno ore], gaue him counsell to tumble hir downe headlong. 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. iii. iii. 176 All with one consent praise new borne gaudes. 1611 Bible Luke xiv. 18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. 1641 Baker Chron. 111 It is by common Consent of all agreed [in Parliament] that the King should not go in person. 1781 Cowper Retirement 524 And all..agree With one consent to rush into the sea. 1874 Sidgwick Meth. Ethics i. viii. §3. 87 Their reception by common consent is still an argument for their validity. |
3. Agreement or unity of opinion, consensus, unanimity. Obs. or arch.
| 1529 More Dyaloge i. Wks. 148/1, I think that god with his holy spirite ledeth his church into the consent of his trouth. 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lviii. §3 To hide the general consent of Antiquity agreeing in the literal interpretation. 1628 T. Spencer Logick 150, I haue shewed the consent of both Authors in the place aleadged. 1785 Paley Mor. Philos. (1818) I. 13 We are far from a perfect consent in our opinions or feelings. 1879 M. Arnold Equality Mixed Ess. 49 As to the duty of pursuing equality, there is no such consent among us. |
| pl. 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 387 The consentes of voyces, must be weyed and measured, not numbred. 1669 Gale Crt. Gentiles i. i. xi. 60, I..adde the Symbols, or consents of other Learned men. |
4. Agreement in feeling, sympathy; also, more generally, harmony, accord, agreement. arch.
| 1382 Wyclif 2 Cor. vi. 16 But what consent to the temple of God with ydols? 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 191 It is not y⊇ descent of birth but y⊇ consent of conditions that maketh Gentlemen. 1607–12 Bacon Ess. Deformity (Arb.) 250 Certainely there is a consent betweene the body, and the minde. 1641 in Rushw. Hist. Coll. (1692) iii. I. 306 Affinity and Consent with the Rules of Nature. 1733 Pope Ess. Man iii. 296 Such is the World's great harmony, that springs From Order, Union, full Consent of things. 1794 Paley Evid. iii. v. (1817) 330 The consent..between Saint Paul's speeches and letters is in this respect sufficiently exact. 1870 M. Conway Earthw. Pilgr. xxvii. 324 Showing the consent of solar systems to the motion of a finger. |
† b. Agreement in faith and doctrine, ecclesiastical communion. Obs.
| 1635 E. Pagitt Christianogr. i. ii. (1636) 66 Let them send letters of consent (that is, of communion) to the Patriarch. 1659 J. Arrowsmith Chain Princ. 91 Consent in Religion is wont to tie the fastest knots of mutual accord. 1709 Strype Ann. Ref. I. xxv. 286 Wherein is taught our consent with the German..and other reformed churches. |
† 5. Phys. and Pathol. A relation of sympathy between one organ or part of the body and another, whereby when the one is affected the other is affected correspondingly. Obs. Cf. consensus 1.
| 1615 Crooke Body of Man 253 Aboue all other Consents is that simpathy betweene the womb and the brests which exceedeth euen admiration it self. 1655 Culpepper Riverius vi. vii. 140 He supposeth that the Larynx did not suffer principally, but by consent. 1727–51 Chambers Cycl., Consent of parts, in the animal œconomy, a certain agreement, or sympathy, by means whereof, when one part is immediately affected, another, at a distance, becomes affected in like manner. 1797 M. Baillie Morb. Anat. (1807) 114 Being explained upon the principle of a consent or sympathy existing between the absorbents of [different parts]. |
† 6. Feeling, opinion, or its expression. Obs.
| 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, i. ii. 44 By my consent, wee'le euen let them alone. 1599 G. a Greene Greene's Wks. (1861) 254 Let me hear, townsmen, what is your consents. |
† 7. A party united by common agreement, fellowship, or adherence to an opinion. Obs. rare.
| 1575 R. B. Appius & V. in Hazl. Dodsley IV. 147 So shall you see the end of him and all his whole concent. 1580 Baret Alv. C. 1070 A diuers consent in sundrie wilful opinions, a sect, a schole or maner of teaching. 1603 Florio Montaigne i. lvi. (1632) 175 Even those which are not of our consent, doe flatly inhibite..the use of the sacred name. |
8. attrib.
| 1848 Wharton Law Lex., Consent-rule, an instrument in writing, which a defendant in an action of ejectment enters into at the time he enters an appearance..The consent-rule is signed by the defendant's attorney. 1888 Pall Mall G. 16 July 6/2 Counsel had an absolute right to consent to a compromise..but if a party sought to be relieved from a consent order, the application should be made promptly. |