assignation
assignation Lexical Profile
assignation Game Scores & Validity
• noun
An appointment to meet someone in secret, typically one made by lovers.
"The historical novel centers on a series of clandestine assignations in the palace gardens."
The formal act of allocating, allotting, or attributing something to a particular person, place, or cause.
"The committee debated the proper assignation of funds across the regional research departments."
Scottish The legal transfer of a right, claim, or property from one party to another, or the document effecting it.
"The solicitor drafted a formal deed of assignation to transfer the lease to the new tenant."
Word Nuance & Usage
While 'assignment' is the standard modern word for an allotted task or duty, 'assignation' in contemporary usage most frequently carries a literary or slightly furtive connotation of a secret romantic tryst.
• Rhymes for assignation
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in Middle English from Old French assignacion, from Latin assignationem ('a marking out, allotment'), derived from the verb assignare ('to mark out, allot by sign').