1680, W[illiam] de Britaine, “Sect[ion] XXII. Of the Man of Honour.”, in Humane Prudence, or The Art by which a Man may Raise Himself and His Fortune to Grandeur.[…], 9th edition, London: […] Richard Sare,[…], published 1702, →OCLC, page 141:
To ſtoop to any ſordid lovv Action, is to imitate the Kite, vvhich flyeth high in the Air, yet vouchſafes to condeſcend to Carrion upon the Ground.
The boss condescended not to sack him after much persuasion from his coworkers.
1548 January 28 (date delivered), Hughe Latemer [i.e., Hugh Latimer], A Notable Sermõ of yͤ Reuerende Father Maister Hughe Latemer, whiche He Preached in yͤ Shrouds at Paules Churche in Londõ, on the .XVIII. Daye of January. 1548, London: […]Jhon Daye,[…], and William Seres,[…], published 1548, →OCLC, signatures [C.iiii.], verso – [C.v.], recto:
Truli I knowe him [the Devil] to wel, and haue obeyed him a little to much in condiſcenting to ſome folies.
Be of the ſame mind one towards another. Minde not high things, but condeſcend to men of low eſtate. Be not wiſe in your owne conceits.
Used in a positive or neutral sense. Translated in the New International Version as “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.”
Spain’s mighty Monarch, to vvhom Heaven thinks fit / That all the Nations of the Earth ſubmit, / In gracious clemency, does condeſcend / On theſe conditions, to become your Friend.
But Adeline was occupied by fame / This day; and watching, witching, condescending / To the consumers of fish, fowl and game, / And dignity with courtesy so blending, […]
Used in a positive or neutral sense.
1838, E[dward] Bickersteth, “Creation”, in Christian Truth: A Family Guide to the Chief Truths of the Gospel:[…], 2nd edition, London: R. B. Seeley and W. Burnside; and sold by L. and G. Seeley,[…], →OCLC, page 58:
O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth, who hast set thy glory above the heavens! And yet thou condescendedst to be my God and my portion for ever.
Yet Origen was too high a man to condescend to wilful misrepresentation, or to do less than his very best to exhibit faithfully the lines which he assailed.
1890, Horatio Alger, Jr., “Randolph Gets the Watch”, in Struggling Upward; or, Luke Larkin’s Luck (Way to Success Series), Philadelphia, Pa.: Henry T. Coates & Co., →OCLC, page 26:
"This is the pay I get for condescending to let you go with me." / "You needn't condescend any longer," said Tom curtly, and he crossed to the other side of the street.
Miss Crawley's graciousness was also remarkable. She continued her raptures about little Amelia, talked about her before her face as if she were a doll, or a servant, or a picture, and admired her with the most benevolent wonder possible. I admire that admiration which the genteel world sometimes extends to the commonalty. There is no more agreeable object in life than to see May Fair folks condescending.
"You must know," said Estella, condescending to me as a brilliant and beautiful woman might, "that I have no heart—if that has anything to do with my memory."
At her invitation he outlined for her the succeeding chapters with terse military accuracy ; and what she liked best and best understood was avoidance of that false modesty which condescends, turning technicality into pabulum.
The whole of his work consists of digested and transformed experience presented to you under arrangements new to himself. It is all true, except as to "the way it is put," and you feel that it is true—that is, if the work be good of the kind; but you can not "condescend upon particulars" as to when and where it all happened.
[1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “Capitulum iiij”, in [Le Morte Darthur], book XXI (in Middle English), [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC, leaf 423, recto; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur[…], London: David Nutt,[…], 1889, →OCLC, page 845, lines 16–18:
Than were they condeſended that Kyng Arthure and syr mordred ſhold mete betwyxte bothe theyr hooſtes and eueryche of them shold brynge fourtene persones […]
Then were they condescended that King Arthur and Sir Mordred should meet betwixt both their hosts and every of them should bring fourteen persons[…]]
a.1530 (date written), John Skelton, “Here after Foloweth a Lytell Boke, whiche hath to Name Why Come Ye Nat to Courte?[…]”, in Alexander Dyce, editor, The Poetical Works of John Skelton:[…], volume II, London: Thomas Rodd,[…], published 1843, →OCLC, page 58, lines 1017–1022:
Careles and shamlesse, / Thriftles and gracelesse, / Together are bended, / And so condyscended, / That the commune welth / Shall neuer haue good helth, […]
1557, Anthony of Gueuara [i.e., Antonio de Guevara], “Of the Excellencie of Christian Religion, whiche Manifesteth the True God, and Disproueth the Vanitie of the Auncientes, Hauinge so Many Gods.[…]”, in Thomas North, transl., The Diall of Princes.[…], London: […][Thomas Marsh for] Iohn Waylande, →OCLC, 1st booke, folio 6, verso, column 1:
For thoſe iuſtly deſerue yͤ ſworde, which with no reaſonable condicions, wil condeſcende vnto peace.
The nobles and commons alſo of this realme, […] haue fully condiſcended and vtterly determined to make humble peticion vnto the puyſſaunt prince the Lorde protectour [the Duke of Gloucester, later Richard III], that it maye like his grace at our humble requeſt, to take vpon him the guyding and gouernaunce of this realme, […]
[B]oth ſides, all toke ſolemne oath, and ſo the peace vvas concluded; they of Plangus partie forcing him to agree, though he himſelfe the ſooner condiſcended, knovving the courteſie of thoſe tvvo excellent Princes, not to refuſe ſo noble a quarrell, and their povver ſuch, as tvvo more (like the other tvvo) vvere not able to reſiſt.
1597, Richard Hooker, “Of Oblations, Foundations, Endowments, Tithes, All Intended for Perpetuitie of Religion,[…]”, in J[ohn] S[penser], editor, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie,[…], 2nd edition, London: […]Will[iam] Stansby[for Matthew Lownes], published 1611, →OCLC, book V, page 428:
And aſſone as the ſtate of the Church could admit thereof, they eaſily condeſcended to thinke it moſt naturall and moſt fit, that God ſhould receiue as before of all men his ancient accuſtomed revenevves of Tithes.
[F]rom his ovvn vvords vve may perceave eaſily, […] hovv unvvillingly and vvith vvhat mentall reſervation he condeſcended againſt his ovvn intereſt to remove it out of the Peers houſe, hath bin ſhovvn alreadie.
Henricus the Emperour [Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor] fearing þe vaine thūderbolt of the Popes curse, talking with his princes, and perswaded by his frendes, was fain to condescend to the vnreasonable conditions of the Pope: […]
1679, Joseph Hall, “Christ Betrayed”, in Contemplations upon the Remarkable Passages in the Life of the Holy Jesus, London: […] E. Flesher, and are to be sold by Jacob Tonson,[…], →OCLC, page 423:
[W]hen John[the author of the Gospel of John] asks thee [Jesus] a queſtion […] thou condeſcendeſt to a mild and full (though ſecret) ſatisfaction.
1528 (date written), John Strype, quoting [Stephen] Gardiner, [Edward] Fox[e], and Gregory de Cassali [i.e., Gregory di Casale], “Numb[er] XXIV. Dr. Gardiner, Dr. Fox, & Sir Gregory de Cassalis, the Kings Ambassadors, unto the Cardinall. From Orviet.”, in Ecclesiastical Memorials; Relating Chiefly to Religion, and the Reformation of It: Shewing the Various Emergencies of the Church of England, under King Henry the Eighth.[…], volume I, London: […] John Wyat,[…], published 1721, →OCLC, page 62:
[H]is Ho[liness] hath, & contynually doth deſire them vvith ſpede to condeſcend to oon opinion, or other, & to ſhevv their ſentence in theſe Articles, VVhether in ther opinions the cauſes vvherupon the Matrimony ſhold be declared nought, & the Diſpenſation void, be ſufficient in the lavv, or not.
[S]he perſwaded the Duke of Clarence, that it was neyther naturall, nor honorable to him eyther to condiſcende or take parte againſt the houſe of Yorke, (of which he was lineally diſcended) and to ſet vp agayne the houſe of Lancaſtre, […]
THOMAS. […] Does my anger deserve your condescension? / ANDIE. I wasn't condescending you; I was just asking. / THOMAS. No. You said "angry black man." Like my anger only exists in a stereotype. That's condescending. I mean, does it occur to you that I might have something to be angry about? A reason that has nothing to do with my being black?
And furthermore, we commit the adminiſtration & vſe of policie and iuſtice ouer the foreſaid vnited prouinces, and aſſociat cities and members of the ſame into his hands, […] with eſpeciall power to collect profits, and receiue, and adminiſtrat all the contributions which are agreed and condeſcended, or ſhall hereafter he conſented or agreed, to the maintenance of the warres: […]
Regarding sense 1.2.1 (“to come down from a superior position and do something”), in older usage the word could be used positively or neutrally to describe the action of someone who socialized in a friendly way with their social inferiors. (For example, in Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice (1813), a character could say of another, “[…] I need not say you will be delighted with her. She is all affability and condescension.”)[4] Now that the concept of social inferiors has largely fallen out of currency, the word tends to be used negatively, conveying the idea that a person is looking down on others.
, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2024.
condescension on Wikipedia.Wikipedia 