Coercion:etymology etc

Dictionary.com
definitions
coerce
[koh-urs]
Spell Syllables
Examples Word Origin
verb (used with object), coerced, coercing.
1.
to compel by force, intimidation, or authority, especially without regard for individual desire or volition:
They coerced him into signing the document.
2.
to bring about through the use of force or other forms of compulsion; exact:
to coerce obedience.
3.
to dominate or control, especially by exploiting fear, anxiety, etc.:
The state is based on successfully coercing the individual.
Origin of coerce
late Middle English Latin
1425-14751425-75; late Middle English < Latin coercēre to hold in, restrain, equivalent to co- co- + -ercēre, combining form of arcēre to keep in, keep away, akin to arca ark
Related forms Expand
coercer, noun
coercible, adjective
noncoercible, adjective
uncoerced, adjective
Can be confused Expand
coerce, compel, constrain, force, oblige (see synonym study at oblige )
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2015.
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Contemporary Examples
A fellow justice also accused McCaffery of attempting to coerce him into opposing Castille.

Judges Behaving Badly: A Great American Tradition
Asawin Suebsaeng
October 29, 2014
Others who have served time in Phonthong report that men try to coerce the female prisoners into having sex.

Will Her Unborn Child Save Her?
Barbie Latza Nadeau
May 20, 2009
In other instances, CIA recruiters used thinly veiled threats to coerce their cooperation.

The CIA Tried Hard to Recruit Spies Among the Al Qaeda Prisoners at Gitmo
Daniel Klaidman
November 27, 2013
His decision to coerce Netanyahu into imposing a 10-month settlement freeze was also a colossal misjudgment.

The Dilemma Of An Israeli Democrat
Paul Gross
November 1, 2012
Religious liberty, Jefferson argued, denies the majority any right to coerce a dissenting minority, even one hostile to religion.

Thomas Jefferson’s Quran: How Islam Shaped the Founders
R.B. Bernstein
September 28, 2013
Historical Examples
Hume, though we have found him censuring the conduct of Franklin, was opposed to any attempt to coerce America.

Life and Correspondence of David Hume, Volume II (of 2)
John Hill Burton
“Most certainly, doctor; I’d never seek to coerce you,” said Cashel, smiling.

Roland Cashel
Charles James Lever
The North in trying to coerce the South was contradicting its own principle.

The Earl of Beaconsfield
James Anthony Froude
Electric influences guide and coerce fish in a wonderful manner.

The Teesdale Angler
R Lakeland
But I do not think that the modern parent desires to coerce as much as did his forbear.

The Intelligence of Woman
W. L. George

British Dictionary definitions for coerce Expand
coerce
/kəʊˈɜːs/
verb
1.
(transitive) to compel or restrain by force or authority without regard to individual wishes or desires
Derived Forms
coercer, noun
coercible, adjective
Word Origin
C17: from Latin coercēre to confine, restrain, from co- together + arcēre to enclose
Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word Origin and History for coerce Expand
v.
mid-15c., cohercen, from Middle French cohercer, from Latin coercere “to control, restrain, shut up together,” from com- “together” (see co- ) + arcere “to enclose, confine, contain, ward off,” from PIE *ark- “to hold, contain, guard” (see arcane ). Related: Coerced ; coercing. No record of the word between late 15c. and mid-17c.; its reappearance 1650s is perhaps a back-formation from coercion.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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