What Does Appointment Mean?
From Dictionary.com, the word appointment is defined as the following.
“Appointment [ uh-point-muhnt ]
Noun
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a fixed mutual agreement for a meeting; engagement.
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a meeting set for a specific time or place.
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the act of appointing, designating, or placing in office.
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an office, position, or the like, to which a person is appointed.
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Usually appointments. equipment, furnishings, or accouterments.
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appointments, accouterments for a soldier or a horse.
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Manège. a horse-show class in which the contestant need not be a member of a hunt but must wear regulation hunt livery.
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Archaic. decree; ordinance.”
Synonyms for Appointment
- assignment
- consultation
- date
- interview
- invitation
- assignation
- engagement
- errand
- gig
- meet
- rendezvous
- session
- tryst
- blind date
- zero hour
The History of the Word
The word appointment has numerous definitions, both modern and old. The English noun first appeared in its modern form in the early fifteenth century, and meant “an agreement” or “a fixed date for official business or meeting.” It is derived from the Old French apointement and apointer, meaning to arrange, settle, or place. The additional meaning, the “act of placing someone in office or in a position of power,” was first defined in the 1650’s.
When to Use This Abbreviation
The abbreviation appt. is used solely in headlines and titles for newspapers and other relevant publications, as well as places where brevity and space are needed. These situations can include invitations, business cards, plaques, and stationary. It can also be used as signage, especially outside of businesses that solicit appointments for services.
In some cases, the abbreviation can be used when making margin edits for academic papers or other essays. This abbreviation should not be used in conventional prose and the full word should be used in such an instance. Appt. can be written as appt. in some cases, though it should be capitalized in headlines and titles. The period at the end of this abbreviation should always be included.
Examples of How to Use Appointment
- The English abbreviations for some words tend to only include key consonants. For example, the abbreviation of the word appointment is simply “appt.”
- I think I’m becoming too dependent on Google. I used it for everything at school—finding abbreviations for words, figuring out time zones of different global areas, managing my calendar of appointments, etc. It’s becoming a problem, and I need to pay attention in class more often.
- The definition of appointment is “the act of putting an official or another relevant person in a position of power at an organization.”
- The follow-up appointment wasn’t as fruitful as I had hoped. The treatment wasn’t working, and I was beginning to really worry.
- Activated partial thromboplastin time, also known as aPTT, is a type of clotting measure test that shows how well a person can form blood clots. The test requires patients to make an appt. ahead of time.
- My blood pressure was high, my heart was beating fast, and my fists were clenched at my sides. I didn’t think the appointment would have this effect on me.
- I had a doctor’s appointment around noon the next day, so I had to take care of grocery shopping that night.
- “How is the website coming along?” Dr. Johnson asked at the meeting. “I’m working on it,” I replied. “I have an appointment with a developer that specializes in WordPress and trending keywords.”
- I wasn’t looking forward to my appointment with the dean of students. He was an intimidating man and never seemed happy. In this moment, I had to be brave and face our appointment head-on.
- Naturally, I felt honored by the appointment. I never imagined myself as the head of a department.
- I never liked the dentist, but I definitely lucked out with this guy. Our appointments were always pleasant, happened at the particular time we scheduled, and I left feeling a little less frightened each time.
- I felt happy with the hotel room’s appointments, especially the decor and toiletries.
Sources:
- https://writingexplained.org/english-abbreviations/appointment
- https://www.dictionary.com/browse/appointment?s=t
- https://www.etymonline.com/word/appointment#etymonline_v_26443
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Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He is also an online editor and writer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do's and don'ts for all who share the same passion! He can be found online here.
