compel
/kəmˈpɛl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.28 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "The shepherds compelled the stray sheep into the fold as night began to fall."
- "She had one of those perfect faces, which irresistibly compel the soul of a man."
- "Logic compels the wise, while fools feel compelled by emotions."
- "Congratulations, your courage compels respect."
- "Against my will, / As Pompey was, am I compell’d to set / Upon one battle all our liberties."
- "Wolsey […] compelled the people to pay up the whole subsidy at once."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Latin con- Proto-Indo-European *pel- Proto-Indo-European *pelh₂-der. Proto-Indo-European *-né-der. Proto-Italic *pelnōder. Latin pellō Latin compellerebor. Middle French compellirbor. Middle English compellen English compel From Middle English compellen, borrowed from Middle French compellir, from Latin compellere, itself from com- (“together”) + pellere (“to drive”). Displaced native Old English nīedan.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: compellen, compellir, compello