affect

See also: Affect

English

WOTD – 28 June 2011

Etymology 1

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd
Proto-Italic *ad
Proto-Italic *ad-
Latin ad-
Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-
Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁k-
Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁kyéti
Proto-Italic *θakjō
Proto-Italic *fakjō
Latin faciō
Latin afficiō
Proto-Indo-European *-tós
Proto-Italic *-tos
Latin -tus
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.
Proto-Italic *-ājō
Proto-Italic *-āō
Latin -ō
Latin -tō
Latin affectō
Latin affectāreder.
Middle English affecten
English affect

    From Middle English affecten, from Latin affectāre, from Latin affectus, the participle stem of Latin afficere (“to act upon, influence, affect, attack with disease”), from ad- + facere (“to make, do”). By surface analysis, af- +‎ Latin -fect.

    Pronunciation

    Verb

    affect (third-person singular simple present affects, present participle affecting, simple past and past participle affected)

    1. (transitive) To influence or alter.
      Synonyms: alter, change, have an effect on, influence, play a role in, play a part in
      The experience affected me deeply.
      The heat of the sunlight affected the speed of the chemical reaction.
    3. (transitive) To move to emotion.
      Synonyms: move, touch
      He was deeply affected by the tragic ending of the play.
    4. (transitive, pathology) Of an illness or condition, to infect or harm (a part of the body).
      Synonyms: attack, harm, infect
      Hepatitis affects the liver.
    5. (transitive, archaic) To dispose or incline.
    6. (transitive, archaic) To tend to by affinity or disposition.
    7. (transitive, archaic) To assign; to appoint.
    8. (transitive, Scots law) To burden (property) with a fixed charge or payment, or other condition or restriction.
    9. (transitive, archaic) To feign or pretend.
      • 1923, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], “(please specify the page)”, in The Eyes of Max Carrados, London: Grant Richards, →OCLC:
        The light above the door made it unconvincing to affect that no one was at home.
    Usage notes

    Affect and effect are sometimes confused. Affect conveys influence over something that already exists, but effect indicates the manifestation of new or original ideas or entities:

    • "...new policies have effected major changes in government."
    • "...new policies have affected major changes in government."

    The former indicates that major changes were made as a result of new policies, while the latter indicates that before new policies, major changes were in place, and that the new policies had some influence over these existing changes.

    The verbal noun uses of affect are distinguished from the verbal noun uses of effect more clearly than the regular verb forms. An affect is something that acts or acted upon something else. However, an effect is the result of an action (by something else).

    Conjugation
    Conjugation of affect
    infinitive (to) affect
    present tense past tense
    1st-person singular affect affected
    2nd-person singular affect, affectest† affected, affectedst†
    3rd-person singular affects, affecteth† affected
    plural affect
    subjunctive affect affected
    imperative affect —
    participles affecting affected

    † Archaic or obsolete.

    Derived terms
    Translations
    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked

    Etymology 2

    Etymology tree
    Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd
    Proto-Italic *ad
    Proto-Italic *ad-
    Latin ad-
    Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-
    Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁k-
    Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
    Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁kyéti
    Proto-Italic *θakjō
    Proto-Italic *fakjō
    Latin faciō
    Latin afficiō
    Proto-Indo-European *-tós
    Proto-Italic *-tos
    Latin -tus
    Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
    Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
    Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
    Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti
    Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.
    Proto-Italic *-ājō
    Proto-Italic *-āō
    Latin -ō
    Latin -tō
    Latin affectō
    Latin affectāreder.
    Middle French affecterder.
    Anglo-Norman affecterder.
    Middle English affecten
    English affect

      From Middle English affecten, from Anglo-Norman affecter (“strive after”), Middle French affecter (“feign”), and their source, Latin affectāre (“to strive after, aim to do, pursue, imitate with dissimulation, feign”), frequentative of afficere (“to act upon, influence”) (see Etymology 1, above).

      Pronunciation

      • enPR: əfĕkt', IPA(key): /əˈfɛkt/
      • Audio (UK):(file)
      • Rhymes: -ɛkt

      Verb

      affect (third-person singular simple present affects, present participle affecting, simple past and past participle affected)

      1. (transitive) To make a show of; to put on a pretense of; to feign; to assume. To make a false display of. [from 16th c.]
        Synonyms: fake, simulate, feign
        to affect ignorance
        to affect a British accent
        He managed to affect a smile despite feeling quite miserable.
      2. (obsolete, transitive) To aim for, to try to obtain. [15th–19th c.]
        • c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:
          Duke.[...] I loue the people,
          But doe not like to stage me to their eyes:
          Though it doe well, I doe not rellish well
          Their lowd applause, and Aues vehement:
          Nor doe I thinke the man of safe discretion
          That do's affect it.
        • 1662, Jacques Olivier, translated by Richard Banke, A Discourse of Women, Shewing Their Imperfections Alphabetically, →OCLC, page 15:
          For it is believed, that he never was married, affecting and embracing Chastity through the whole course of his Life.
        • a. 1701 (date written), John Dryden, “The First Book of Homer’s Ilias”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, […], volume IV, London: […] J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […], published 1760, →OCLC, page 430:
          Wiſe are thy words, and glad I would obey, / But this proud man affects imperial ſway.
        • 1841, Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Self-Reliance”, in Essays: First Series:
          I seek the Vatican, and the palaces. I affect to be intoxicated with sights and suggestions, but I am not intoxicated.
      3. (transitive, rare) To feel affection for (someone); to like, be fond of. [from 16th c.]
      4. (transitive, obsolete) To show a fondness for (something); to choose. [from 16th c.]
      Derived terms
      Translations

      Etymology 3

      Etymology tree
      Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd
      Proto-Italic *ad
      Proto-Italic *ad-
      Latin ad-
      Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-
      Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁k-
      Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
      Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁kyéti
      Proto-Italic *θakjō
      Proto-Italic *fakjō
      Latin faciō
      Latin afficiō
      Proto-Indo-European *-tus
      Proto-Italic *-tus
      Latin -tus
      Latin affectusder.
      Middle English affect
      English affect

        From Middle English affect, from Latin affectus, adfectus (“a state of mind or body produced by some (external) influence, especially sympathy or love”), from afficere (“to act upon, influence”).

        Pronunciation

        • enPR: ă'fĕkt, IPA(key): /ˈæ.fɛkt/

        Noun

        affect (plural affects)

        1. (psychology) A subjective feeling experienced in response to a thought or other stimulus.
          • 1899, Sigmund Freud, translated by Joyce Crick, The Interpretation of Dreams, Oxford, published 2008, page 62:
            if we are afraid of robbers in a dream, the robbers are certainly imaginary, but the fear is real. This draws our attention to the fact that the development of affects [translating Affectentwicklung] in dreams is not amenable to the judgement we make of the rest of the dream-content [...].
          • 2004, Jeffrey Greenberg, Thomas A Pyszczynski, Handbook of Experimental Existential Psychology, page 407:
            A third study demonstrated that the effects of self-affirmation on self-regulated performance were not due to positive affect.
        2. (psychology) Mood, emotion, especially as demonstrated in external physical signs. [from 19th c.]
          • 2026 September 4, Olga Khazan, “The Dark Side of Mindfulness”, in Jeffrey Goldberg, editor, The Atlantic‎[3], Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 12 September 2026:
            Britton has straight blond hair, blue eyes, and a muted affect. When you say something to her, she pauses, as if considering whether or not to smile. A colleague once suggested to her that she might be autistic. “And I’m like, ‘Okay,’” she told me one day recently.
        3. (obsolete) One's mood or inclination; mental state. [14th–17th c.]
        4. (obsolete) A desire, an appetite. [16th–17th c.]
        Usage notes

        Affect and effect can both be used as nouns or verbs, but when used as a noun the word affect is limited to the above psychology uses and the definitions for effect are much more common. See also the usage notes as a verb above.

        Derived terms
        Translations
        The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
        Translations to be checked

        References

        Dutch

        Etymology

        Borrowed from Latin affectus.

        Pronunciation

        • IPA(key): /aːˈfɛkt/
        • Audio:(file)
        • Hyphenation: af‧fect
        • Rhymes: -ɛkt

        Noun

        affect n (plural affecten, diminutive affectje n)

        1. (psychology) affect

        Descendants

        • → Indonesian: afek

        French

        Etymology

          Learned borrowing from Latin affectus.

          Pronunciation

          Noun

          affect m (plural affects)

          1. (psychology, philosophy) affect; emotion

          See also

          Further reading

          Scots

          Pronunciation

          • IPA(key): /əˈfɛk(t)/

          Etymology 1

          Verb

          affect (third-person singular simple present affects, present participle affectin, simple past and past participle affectit)

          1. to affect
          2. (law) to burden property with a fixed charge or payment, or other condition or restriction

          Etymology 2

          Noun

          affect (plural affects)

          1. affect, mood

          References

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