Where does “law enforcement” come from?
law enforcement (English) comes from English enforcement, from English enforce, from Middle English enforcen, from Old French enforcier, from Franco-Provençal forciér, from Latin fortio, from Late Latin fortia, from Latin fortis — to rise; high, lofty; hill, mountain.
law enforcement (English): The task of ensuring obedience to the law
Definitions
- The task of ensuring obedience to the law
Ancestry of “law enforcement”, step by step
law enforcement traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English enforcement
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | enforcement | The act of enforcing; compulsion; A giving force... |
| 2 | English | enforce | To keep up, impose or bring into effect... |
| 3 | Middle English | enforcen | — |
| 4 | Old French | enforcier | to fortify; to strengthen; to strengthen; to... |
| 5 | Franco-Provençal | forciér | to force |
| 6 | Latin | fortio | I force |
| 7 | Late Latin | fortia | nominative neuter plural of fortis; accusative... |
| 8 | Latin | fortis | strong, powerful; firm, resolute, steadfast,... |
| 9 | Old Latin | forctis | strong |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | forktis | strong, robust |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰerǵʰ- | to rise; high, lofty; hill, mountain |
via English Law
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Law | perhaps originally meaning someone who lives near a burial mound |
| 2 | English | speaker | One who speaks; Loudspeaker; Speakerphone |
| 3 | English | -ine | Of or pertaining to; Used to form demonyms;... |
| 4 | French | -ine | feminine singular of -in; female equivalent of... |
| 5 | French | -é | past participle root verb suffix of regular -er... |
| 6 | Middle French | -é | past participle root verb suffix of regular; -ed, -en, -n |
| 7 | Old French | -é | used to form past participles of regular -er... |
| 8 | Latin | -a | suffixed to the roots of verbs, forms agent... |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | -ā | Forms masculine agent nouns from prefixed or compounded bases |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -éh₂ | — |