Where does “compel” come from?
Compel comes from Middle English compellen, from Middle French compellir, from Latin compellere, formed from the prefix com- and the verb pellere meaning to drive or push.
compel (English): To drive together, round up; To overpower; to...
Definitions
- To drive together, round up; To overpower; to...
Ancestry of “compel”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | compellen | to force, coerce (under duress) |
| 2 | Middle French | compellir | to compel; to force someone to do something |
| 3 | Latin | compellō | to gather, collect, push together |
| 4 | Latin | cōn- | Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing together of several objects |
| 5 | Latin | cum | with, along with; at; -fold |
| 6 | Old Latin | com | Alternative form of cum |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | kom | with, along, at |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 10 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 11 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 12 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 13 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 14 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 15 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 16 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |