Etymograph

English

compulsive

Compulsive comes from Latin compulsus ‘compelled’, from pellō ‘to drive’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pel-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pel-1‘to drive, strike, thrust’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pelnō1‘to approach’uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpellō2as pellere‘to drive’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcompellere2‘to compel’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcompulsus2‘compelled’past participle of compellere
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentcompulsif2
  7. Englishearliest quotation a. 1729compulsive2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin pello
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English compulsive
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1729, Samuel Clarke: “Religion is […] inconsistent with all compulsive Motives.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pel-Wiktionary, Latin pello‘to drive, strike, thrust’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pelnōWiktionary, Latin pello‘to approach’uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpellōWiktionary, English compulsiveas pellere‘to drive’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcompellereWiktionary, English compulsive‘to compel’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcompulsusWiktionary, English compulsive‘compelled’past participle of compellere
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentcompulsifWiktionary, English compulsive
  7. Englishearliest quotation a. 1729compulsiveWiktionary, English compulsive. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1729, Samuel Clarke: “Religion is […] inconsistent with all compulsive Motives.”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pel- ‘to drive, strike, thrust’

film, felt, simple, simply, push, filter, powder, fold, pillow, complain, flaw, pollen, palate, palpable, palladium, palatable, pall, wallow, peloton, polemic, tuple, pollinate, palatal, muffle, apoplexy, peplum, palp, pillion, interpolate, pulver, 62 more

through Proto-Italic *pelnō ‘to approach’

impulse, repellent, repulse, 11 more

through Latin pellō ‘to drive’

appeal, repeal, pulse, appellate, expel, repel, propel, dispel, propulsion, pelt, expulsion, rappel, impel, 17 more

through Latin compellere ‘to compel’

compel, 2 more

Today it means

adj Uncontrolled or reactive and irresistible.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “compulsive”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin pello. 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 *pel- / compulsive

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