| Kenneth G. Wilson (1923). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993. |
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| sanction (n., v.) |
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| The verb means only to give approval or permission, to support, although at one time it also meant to punish. Today only the noun has both nearly antithetical senses: approval and punishment or penalty. Both are Standard, and context must distinguish them. | 1 |
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| | | The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Copyright © 1993 Columbia University Press. |
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