The two terms ‘access’ and ‘assess’ are somewhat similar in pronunciation but differ a lot in their meaning. The access means to have something or have permission to do something.
It is also used in places where eruptions of emotions are meant. Assess is a term used to evaluate something or someone. It can also be used in places where estimation is needed. Both of them are transitive verbs and cannot exist in a sentence where an object is not found.
Access vs Assess
The main difference between access and assess is that access is a word coined to have something or positively approach something whereas assess is a term used to evaluate or estimate some nouns. Access can secondarily mean an attack of something whereas assess can also mean the quality of something.
The word access is used in a sentence to depict the permission one has to use something. Access can be used with any form of an object. Mostly the objects in the sentences would be the one that has the permission to be used and ultimately accessed. It also means the outbursts of emotions.
Assess is a term used to evaluate or to estimate. It can have simultaneous meanings like to judge, value, and determine quality. The object or the subject would be ’assessed ‘when this term is used in a sentence. It can also be used in places where the importance of something is spoken.
Comparison Table Between Access and Assess (in Tabular Form)
| Parameter of Comparison | Access | Assess |
|---|---|---|
| Primary meaning | Access is primarily meant as permission to use something or an approach for the same. | Assess is primarily used to evaluate someone or estimate something. |
| Secondary meaning | It is used to show the outburst/attack of feelings. | It can also be used to show the value of a noun. |
| Forms of existence | Access can exist as a transitive verb as well as a noun. | Assess can exist as a transitive verb. |
| Origin | Access is originated from Old French | Assess is originated from Latin. |
| Example | 1. I need access to the computer 2. He was suddenly accessed by tears. | 1. The teacher assessed our answers. 2. The house was assessed for 10 million. |
What is Access?
The term access means having permission to do something. It can also mean to use something. Access is a term that can be used as a verb as well as a noun. When used as a noun, access can take up the place of a subject or an object. When used as a verb, it is used as permission to approach something.
The term also has a meaning to ‘show up something’. In this usage, an emotion or feeling is shown in a massive amount. The outbursts that occur due to emotions are single worded as access. The term also means the opportunity to use something.
The term was originated from Old French. Accede was used in French and it has the same meaning of access. This term also has multiple meanings in French, but in English, only the synonyms that mean to have permission is derived.
In medical terms, the word access is used to denote the passage that usually dentists create. But this is a narrow term and the meaning is not widely used. Mostly the term is meant to ‘use’ or ‘the permission to use’.
For Example:
- I can access the library (verb)
- I have been granted the access (noun)
What is Assess?
The term assess means to evaluate someone/ something. It can also mean to estimate something. It is a term widely used in English to judge something. Normally, it exists as a verb. It needs an object to withstand in a sentence. When used in a sentence ‘something should be assessed’.
The secondary meaning of ‘assess’ is similar to that of the first one. It also means to value something. Value of something can be found out after evaluating it and that is what assessment does. It can mean differently in different contents according to the subject and object that is being assessed.
In Medieval Latin, Assessare was used to denote tax valuation. This term is taken from Latin and has the secondary meaning of calculating the tax amount. The appraisal of something can also have the word meaning of assess,
Assess can also change the meaning according to what the sentence is trying to communicate. It can change the color according to the sentence. Sometimes it means to value and sometimes it means to judge. Hence there is a massive difference according to the situation used.
For example,
- I have assessed the students. (meaning –judge)
- The gold is assessed for over a million dollars. (meaning – value)
Main Differences Between Access and Assess
- Access primarily means to approach something and get permission to use it. Assess at the same place, means to evaluate and estimate something.
- Access also means to open up with inner feelings and emotions. Assess also means to judge or value something.
- The word ‘access’ can be used as a verb as well as a noun whereas ‘assess’ can be only used as a verb.
- Access is derived from Old French whereas assess has an origin of Medieval Latin.
- The term access is used as a passage of routing canals in dentistry whereas assessment is an official valuation of something.
Conclusion
The words access and assess are two English words that look similar but differ in their meanings a lot. The former one has the meaning of having permission to use something and the latter one has the meaning of evaluating something. They both are used as verbs while access can also be used as a noun.
Access can also mean to express massive emotions while assess van has a wider meaning ranging from judging to value. The meaning can change according to the situation addressed in the sentence. Both of them are derived words and have their different meanings even though they look similar.
References
- https://www.dictionary.com/browse/access
- https://www.thesaurus.com/browse/assess