The act of agreeing or assenting; excessive agreement or flattery given to please someone in authority or gain favor.
From Latin 'assentatio' (agreement), from 'assentire' (to assent). The -tion suffix creates the noun form. Medieval writers used it to criticize sycophantic behavior.
Renaissance writers loved the word 'assentation' to criticize court flattery—Castiglione's 'Book of the Courtier' warns against it as the ultimate mark of a false courtier, making it a weapon of social criticism.
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