Etymograph

English

enforcement

Enforcement comes from Old French enforcement.

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400enforcement1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1555enforcement1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English enforcement
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1555, Peter Martyr of Angleria [i.e., Peter Martyr d’Anghiera]: “[M]en lyued ſimplye and innocentlye without inforcement of lawes,…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400enforcementWiktionary, English enforcement
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1555enforcementWiktionary, English enforcement. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1555, Peter Martyr of Angleria [i.e., Peter Martyr d’Anghiera]: “[M]en lyued ſimplye and innocentlye without inforcement of lawes,…”

Every English word from Old French enforcement

Today it means

noun The act of enforcing; compulsion.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “enforcement”. 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 / Old French enforcement / enforcement

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