Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Concern in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels concern as verb. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913verb
Concern

[F. concerner, LL. concernere to regard, concern, fr. L. concernere to mix or mingle together, as in a sieve for separating; con- + cernere to separate, sift, distinguish by the senses, and especially by the eyes, to perceive, see. See Certain.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordconcern
Part of speechverb
Historical etymology[F. concerner, LL. concernere to regard, concern, fr. L. concernere to mix or mingle together, as in a sieve for separating; con- + cernere to separate, sift, distinguish by the senses, and especially by the eyes, to perceive, see. See Certain.]
Selected historical definitionTo relate or belong to; to have reference to or connection with; to affect the interest of; to be of importance to.
Signed record IDwebster1913-concern-verb-42e4756819a5
Source locatorCIDE.C, paragraph 13531; Gutenberg eBook 661
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 661Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "concern" is labeled verb. Its etymology is recorded as: "[F. concerner, LL. concernere to regard, concern, fr. L. concernere to mix or mingle together, as in a sieve for separating; con- + cernere to separate, sift, distinguish by the senses, and especially by the eyes, to perceive, see. See Certain.]" The selected historical definition says: "To relate or belong to; to have reference to or connection with; to affect the interest of; to be of importance to."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-10-04

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

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