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Today it means

compulsion

an irresistible urge to behave in a certain way, against one's conscious wishes

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Where does the word "compulsion" come from? It comes from Latin compellere, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).

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Where does the word "compulsion" come from? It comes from Latin compellere, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).

Compulsion’s story begins in Latin: compellere meant “to force, to drive together.” To drive together, to force, from com- (together) and pellere (to drive). It reached English by 1400s as compulsion. Settled as the English word for an irresistible urge to act. Today, compulsion means an irresistible urge to behave in a certain way, against one's conscious wishes.

  1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient compellere "to force, to drive together", to drive together, to force, from com- (together) and pellere (to drive).
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1400s compulsion "an irresistible urge to act in a certain way", settled as the English word for an irresistible urge to act.

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