To admit or confess to something, usually used in the phrase 'fess up' meaning to tell the truth.
From Old French 'fesser' and Medieval Latin 'fassus,' derived from Latin 'fateri' meaning 'to confess.' The word contracted from 'confess' and eventually became the shorter 'fess.'
The phrase 'fess up' is so useful that many people don't realize it's actually a shortening of 'confess'—your brain just drops the 'con' part and goes straight to the good stuff!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.