entitle

To entitle someone means to give them an official right to have, use, or do something. A ticket may entitle you to a seat, and a contract may entitle you to payment. The word is also used when giving a name to a book, poem, film, or other work. A writer might entitle a novel "The Last Summer." You will also often see the past form entitled before a title, as in "an article entitled 'New Beginnings.'"

At its core, "entitle" means giving someone a right or claim. This often appears in legal, official, or rule-based settings. A law may entitle citizens to certain protections, a policy may entitle workers to paid leave, and finishing a course may entitle you to a certificate. In all these cases, the idea is that a person has a proper right to something, not just a wish for it.

The word is also used for giving something a title or name. A poem can be entitled "Winter Light," a film can be entitled "Homeward Road," and a chapter can be entitled "Early Trade Routes." In this sense, the word simply connects a work with its chosen title.

You may also meet the related adjective entitled, which describes someone who thinks they deserve special treatment. That idea comes from the same root, but it is a different use from the main verb. For example: "He acted as if he were entitled to the best seat in the room." In a vocabulary card for entitle, the main meanings to remember are "give a right to" and "give a title to."

Historically, the word first grew from the idea of giving something a title. From there, it also came to mean giving a person a rightful claim. That is why the same word can talk about both naming a work and giving someone a right.