approve

Etymology 1

From Middle English aproven, appreoven, appreven, apreven, borrowed from Old French aprover, approver, approuvir, appreuver (“to approve”), from Latin approbō, from ad + probō (“to esteem as good, approve, prove”). Doublet of approbate. Compare prove.

verb

1. (transitive) To officially sanction; to ratify; to confirm; to set as satisfactory.
   It has jailed environmental activists and is planning to limit the power of judicial oversight by handing a state-approved body a monopoly over bringing environmental lawsuits. 2013-08-10, “Can China clean up fast enough?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848
   Although we may disagree with it, we must nevertheless approve the sentence handed down by the court-martial.
2. (transitive) To regard as good; to commend; to be pleased with; to think well of.
   We approve the measure of the administration, for it is an excellent decision.
3. (transitive, archaic) To make proof of; to demonstrate; to prove or show practically.
   He had approved himself a great warrior. 1848, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession Of James II
   Opportunities to approve[…]worth. 1844, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays: Second Series
   1812-1818, Lord Byron, Child Harolde's Piligrimage 'T is an old lesson; Time approves it true.
   He had long burned with impatience to approve his valour. 1764, Horace Walpole, The Castle of Otranto, section III
4. (intransitive, followed by "of") To consider worthy (to); to be pleased (with); to accept.
   Her mother never approves of any of her boyfriends. She thinks nobody is good enough for her little girl.
   Your mother wouldn't approve of how my mother raised me. But I do, I think I do. And you're an all-American boy 2016, Mitski, Your Best American Girl
   Dad didn't approve of me, do you? I'm alive with something inside of me. 1995, The Verve, A Northern Soul
   They had not approved of the deposition of James. 1848, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession Of James II
   Their address was in the most dutiful manner, approving of what her majesty had done toward a peace, and dissolve her parliament 1758, Jonathan Swift, The History of the Four Last Years of the Queen
5. (archaic, transitive, usually with a reflexive pronoun) To show to be worthy; to demonstrate the merits of.
   The first care and concern must be to approve himself to God. a. 1729, John Rogers, The Duty and Advantageous of Trust in God

Etymology 2

From Middle English approuen, approven, from Old French aprouer; a- + a form apparently derived from the pro, prod, in Latin prōsum (“be useful or profitable”). Compare with improve.

verb

1. (transitive, law, English law) To make profit of; to convert to one's own profit — said especially of waste or common land appropriated by the lord of the manor.