noun
-
the act of ceding, esp of ceding rights, property, or territory
-
something that is ceded, esp land or territory
Etymology
Origin of cession
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin cessiōn- (stem of cessiō ) a giving up, equivalent to cess ( us ) past participle of cēdere to yield ( ced- perfect stem + -tus past participle suffix) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
Cession is the act of giving up something, usually land, by the agreement in a formal treaty. For example, after a war, a losing country might make a cession of part of its land to the victor. The meaning (and spelling) of the word cession, began with the Latin word meaning "a giving up" and retained that meaning throughout the word's evolution, passing through Old French and Middle English pretty much untouched. We can see its relationship to other words, such as secession, which is the idea of one government breaking away from another, or "giving up" the connection between them, as happened in our own country and led to the Civil War.
Vocabulary lists containing cession
The Constitution of the United States
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The Age of Jackson and Westward Expansion, Lessons 6–7
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The U.S. Constitution, List 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A colonial civil servant later described the cession of Hong Kong as “a surprise to all concerned.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 19, 2022
That conflict ended with the humiliating cession of more than half the nation’s territory to the United States, but López Obrador saw in it at least a few examples of valor.
From The New Yorker ● Jun. 18, 2018
In the rest of the cession, Mexican laws against slavery would remain in force until those areas attained statehood or the courts ruled otherwise.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 18, 2018
It also found the part of the Sac and Fox cession west of the Mississippi had a market value of 60 cents an acre in 1804.
From Slate ● Mar. 1, 2017
The only particular and pacific facility which France ever possessed for American intercourse, has for many years been transferred into the British scale by the cession of Canada to Great Britain.
From The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Volume X (of 12) by Various
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
