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Today it means

incite

to encourage violent behaviour

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

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

Incite’s story begins in Latin: incitare meant “to urge on.” 'in-' plus 'citare', to set in motion. It reached English by 1400s as incite. 'incitement' dates from the 1500s. Today, incite means to encourage violent behaviour.

  1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient incitare "to urge on", 'in-' plus 'citare', to set in motion.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1400s incite "to urge on", 'incitement' dates from the 1500s.

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