The story
- Proto-Indo-European*ḱe?
- Proto-Indo-European*ḱóm
- Proto-Italic*kom
- Proto-Italic*kom-
- Latincon-
- Proto-Indo-European*pel-
- Proto-Indo-European*pelh₂-
- Proto-Italic*pelnō
- Latinpellō
- Latincompellere
- Middle Frenchcompellir
- Middle Englishcompellen
- English todaycompel
From Middle English compellen, borrowed from Middle French compellir, from Latin compellere, itself from com- (“together”) + pellere (“to drive”). Displaced native Old English nīedan.
Words from the same roots
Latincompellere all →
compulsioncompulsative
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.