Inculcate
/ɪnˈkʌl.keɪt/noun
To teach or impress something by repeated instruction or forceful repetition.
Did you know?Inculcate comes from Latin *inculcāre*, and the root image is physical pressure: ideas were once imagined as being pressed into someone’s mind the way a footprint is pressed into the ground.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
inculcāre
“to tread on, stamp in, press in; later, to force into the mind by repeated urging”
Classical Latin
Latin
in- + calx
“in- (“in, into”) + calx (“heel”), suggesting the act of treading in with the heel”
Old French
Old French
inculquer
“to impress upon, instill”
Late Middle English
English
inculcate
“to impress ideas or principles by persistent repetition”
Modern English
English
inculcate
“to teach or impress by repeated instruction”
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