access

English Online Dictionary. What means access‎? What does access mean?

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English accesse, acces, borrowed from Middle French acces (“attack, onslaught”) or from its source Latin accessus, perfect passive participle of accēdō (“approach; accede”), from ad (“to, toward, at”) + cēdō (“move, yield”). Doublet of accessus. First attested in the early 14th century. The sense "entrance" was first attested about 1380.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈæksɛs/
• (General American) enPR: ăkʹsĕs', IPA^(key): /ˈækˌsɛs/
• Rhymes: -æksɛs
• Hyphenation: ac‧cess

Noun

access (countable and uncountable, plural accesses)

1. (uncountable) A way or means of approaching or entering; an entrance; a passage.
2. (uncountable) The act of approaching or entering; an advance.
3. (uncountable) The right or ability of approaching or entering; admittance; admission; accessibility.
4. (uncountable) The quality of being easy to approach or enter.
5. (uncountable) Admission to sexual intercourse.
6. (archaic, countable) An increase by addition; accession
7. (countable) An onset, attack, or fit of disease; an ague fit.
8. (countable) An outburst of an emotion; a paroxysm; a fit of passion.
   • 1946, Arnold J. Toynbee, A Study of History (Abridgement of Volumes I-VI by D.C. Somervell)

     It appears that, about the middle of the fourth century of the Christian Era, the Germans in the Roman service started the new practice of retaining their native names; and this change of etiquette, which seems to have been abrupt, points to a sudden access of self-confidence and self-assurance in the souls of the barbarian personnel which had previously been content to 'go Roman' without reservations.

9. (uncountable, law) The right of a noncustodial parent to visit their child.
10. (countable, computing) The process of locating data in memory.
11. (uncountable, networking) Connection to or communication with a computer program or to the Internet.
12. (uncountable, Scotland) Complicity or assent.

Usage notes

• (outburst, paroxysm): sometimes confused with excess.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Etymology 2

• First attested in 1962.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈæksɛs/, /əkˈsɛs/
• (General American) enPR: ăkʹsĕs', ək-sĕsʹ, IPA^(key): /ˈækˌsɛs/, /əkˈsɛs/
• Rhymes: -æksɛs, -ɛs
• Hyphenation: ac‧cess

Verb

access (third-person singular simple present accesses, present participle accessing, simple past and past participle accessed)

1. (transitive) To gain or obtain access to.
2. (transitive, computing) To have access to (data).

Derived terms

Descendants

• ⇒ Brazilian Portuguese: acessar

Translations

References

• “access”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “access”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “access”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• access in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
• “access, n.” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.