Enervate
/ˈɛn.ər.veɪt/noun
To weaken or drain of energy or vitality.
Did you know?In Latin, the ancestor of *enervate* was used for making something limp or weak, and over time English turned that physical image into a psychological one: drained, exhausted, powerless.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
ēnervāre
“to weaken, cripple, or remove the sinews from”
Late Latin
Latin
ēnervātus
“weakened, made feeble”
Middle French
Old French
énervé
“weakened, exhausted”
15th Century
English
enervaten
“to weaken or deprive of force”
Modern English
English
enervate
“to make weak or feeble; to drain vitality”
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