Coerce
/koʊˈɝːs/noun
To force someone to do something by pressure, threats, or intimidation.
Did you know?It comes from Latin *coercēre*, literally “to enclose, restrain, or confine,” from *com-* (“together”) + *arcēre* (“to shut in, keep off”), a root tied to keeping things fenced in.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ark-
“to hold off, protect, shut in”
Latin
Latin
arcēre
“to keep off, ward off, confine”
Latin
Latin
coercēre
“to restrain, confine, check”
Middle English
Anglo-French
coercer
“to restrain or force”
Modern English
English
coerce
“to compel by force or threat”