concession
oxford
views updated May 21 2018con·ces·sion / kənˈseshən/ •
n. 1. a thing that is granted, esp. in response to demands; a thing conceded. ∎ the action of conceding, granting, or yielding something. ∎ (a concession to) a gesture, esp. a token one, made in recognition of a demand or prevailing standard: her only concession to fashion was her ornate silver ring.2. a preferential allowance or rate given by an organization: tax concessions.3. the right to use land or other property for a specified purpose, granted by a government, company, or other controlling body: new logging concessions. ∎ a commercial operation within the premises of a larger concern, typically selling refreshments. ∎ Can. a piece of land into which surveyed land is divided, itself further divided into lots.
The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English
CONCESSION
oxford
views updated May 11 2018CONCESSION. In GRAMMAR, a relationship of contrast in which there is an implication of something unexpected. The relationship may be implicit in the content of two expressions that are juxtaposed:
The inhabitants were gentle,
even friendly;
underneath we sensed sadness. The contrast may be made explicit by inserting the coordinating conjunction
but before
underneath:
The inhabitants were gentle,
even friendly,
but underneath we sensed sadness. The unexpectedness may be made explicit by inserting concessive conjuncts (
yet,
however,
nevertheless) or by subordinating the first clause and using a concessive subordinating conjunction to introduce it:
Although the inhabitants were gentle,
even friendly,
underneath we sensed sadness. Clauses introduced by concessive subordinators such as
although,
even though,
though,
while are known as concessive clauses or adverbial clauses of concession.
Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language TOM McARTHUR
concession
oxford
views updated May 11 2018concession XVI. — (O)F.
concession or L.
concessiō,
-ōn-, f.
concess-, pp. stem of
concēdere CONCEDE; see
-ION.
So
concessive (chiefly gram.) XVIII. — late L.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD