English
compulsative
Compulsative comes from Latin compellō ‘to compel’, from pellō ‘drive’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pelh₂- ‘to approach’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pelh₂-1‘to approach’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpellō1‘drive’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcompellō2as compellere‘to compel’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602compulsative2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin compello
- 2 Wiktionary, English compulsative
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “But to recouer of vs by ſtrong hand /…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pelh₂-Wiktionary, Latin compello‘to approach’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpellōWiktionary, Latin compello‘drive’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcompellōWiktionary, English compulsativeas compellere‘to compel’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602compulsativeWiktionary, English compulsative. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “But to recouer of vs by ſtrong hand /…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pelh₂- ‘to approach’
through Latin pellō ‘drive’
appeal, repeal, pulse, expel, appellate, repel, propel, dispel, propulsion, expulsion, pelt, compel, rappel, impel, 17 more
Today it means
adj Compulsatory; employing force or constraint.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “compulsative”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin compello. 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 *pelh₂- / compulsative