entice
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English enticen, from Old French enticier (“to stir up or excite”), from a Vulgar Latin *intitiāre (“I set on fire”), from in- + titiō (“firebrand (tool)”), from Proto-Italic *tītjō (“heating”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *teih₁- (“to become hot, melt or to end”).
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
entice (third-person singular simple present entices, present participle enticing, simple past and past participle enticed)
- (transitive) To lure; to attract by arousing desire or hope.
- 2012 March, Brian Hayes, “Pixels or Perish”, in American Scientist[1], volume 100, number 2, archived from the original on 19 February 2013, page 106:
- Blackboard sketches, geological maps, diagrams of molecular structure, astronomical photographs, MRI images, the many varieties of statistical charts and graphs: These pictorial devices are indispensable tools for presenting evidence, for explaining a theory, for telling a story. And, on top of all that, they are ornaments; they entice and intrigue and sometimes delight.
- I enticed the little bear into the trap with a pot of honey.
Related terms edit
Translations edit
to lure; to attract by arousing desire or hope
See also edit
References edit
- “entice”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “entice”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.