Dictionary

apologise en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /əˈpɒləˌd͡ʒaɪz/
• (Southern-England) audio
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Hellenic *apó Ancient Greek ᾰ̓πό (ăpó) Ancient Greek ᾰ̓πο- (ăpo-) Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *lóǵos Proto-Hellenic *lógos Ancient Greek λόγος (lógos) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā) Ancient Greek ἀπολογία (apología)bor. Ecclesiastical Latin apologialbor. French apologiebor. English apology English -ise English apologise From apology + -ise.

Meanings

1. (UK, alt-of, nonstandard) Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of apologize.
   alt of apologize
   • The Rector sconced him in the buttery-book, but Webberly “wiped it off, with irreverent and unbeseeming language.” For this, he had to apologise, and go without his commons for three months. 1898, Rev. A. Clark, University of Oxford, College Histories: Lincoln, page 73:
   • This makes him a rare bird, for most Democrats running for re-election are staying mum or apologising for their votes for reform. 2010 October 14, “Coming back to bite him”, in The Economist:
   • At the other extreme, couples who are married with children have heavily disguised tiffs. A man saying in a slightly strained way, 'I'm going to turn the compost', is actually saying, 'And that's all you are, Jean, compost!' Of course, what happens is eventually he apologises, they cry, make love, have another child, get overtired and the tiffing continues. 2000 September 30, Guy Browning, “How to... have a tiff”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 03 Jun 2021:
   • John Mayer has apologised for using a racist epithet in a recent interview with Playboy magazine, after a number of prominent black musicians aired their disapproval. 2010 February 11, Rosie Swash, “John Mayer apologises after using N-word in Playboy interview”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 26 Mar 2021:

Forms

Deriveds

apologiser · overapologise