- endorse
- late 14c., from O.Fr. endosser, lit. "to put on back," from en- "put on" + dos "back," from L. dossum, var. of dorsum. Sense of "confirm, approve" (by signing on the back) is first recorded in Eng. 1847. Assimilated in form to M.L. indorsare. Related: Endorsed; endorsing.
"You can endorse, literally, a cheque or other papers, &, metaphorically, a claim or argument, but to talk of endorsing material things other than papers is a solecism." [Fowler]