English
compel
Compel comes from Middle French compellir ‘to compel’, from Latin pellō ‘to push, drive, hurl, impel, propel’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱe ‘Deictic particle, here’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱe1‘Deictic particle, here’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱóm1‘beside, near, by, with’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kom1‘with, along, at’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kom-1‘together’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pelnō1‘to approach’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpellō1‘to push, drive, hurl, impel, propel’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcompellere1
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600compellir1‘to compel’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500compellen1‘to force, coerce’
- Englishearliest quotation 1590compel1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English compel
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book I, Canto I: “She had this knight from far compeld.”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱeWiktionary, English compel‘Deictic particle, here’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱómWiktionary, English compel‘beside, near, by, with’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*komWiktionary, English compel‘with, along, at’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kom-Wiktionary, English compel‘together’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pelnōWiktionary, English compel‘to approach’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpellōWiktionary, English compel‘to push, drive, hurl, impel, propel’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcompellereWiktionary, English compel
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600compellirWiktionary, English compel‘to compel’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500compellenWiktionary, English compel‘to force, coerce’
- Englishearliest quotation 1590compelWiktionary, English compel. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book I, Canto I: “She had this knight from far compeld.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱe ‘Deictic particle, here’
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm ‘beside, near, by, with’
among, gain, hind, likeness, comply, 34 more
through Proto-Italic *kom ‘with, along, at’
consideration, cum, cue, 15 more
through Proto-Italic *kom- ‘together’
conference, consider, counter, consistent, concrete, con, commodity, contra, 20 more
through Proto-Italic *pelnō ‘to approach’
through Latin pellō ‘to push, drive, hurl, impel, propel’
appeal, pulse, repeal, propulsion, expulsion, compulsory, appellate, expel, propel, repel, 20 more
through Latin compellere
Today it means
verb To drive together, round up.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “compel”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱe / compel