Instinct
/ˈɪn.stɪŋkt/noun
An innate, largely automatic impulse or behavior; a natural urge or intuition.
Did you know?The word comes from Latin instinctus, meaning a “prompting” or “impelling,” from instinguere, “to incite, urge on,” so the idea of instinct was originally about being *stirred into action* from within.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*steig-
“to prick, stick, or goad”
Latin
Latin
instinguere
“to incite, urge on, stimulate”
Latin
Latin
instinctus
“a prompting, impulse, or incitement”
Late Middle English
English
instinct
“an innate tendency or natural impulse”
Modern English
English
instinct
“an inborn, automatic tendency or intuition”
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