force
EnglishEdit
PronunciationEdit
- (General American) enPR: fôrs, IPA(key): /fɔɹs/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /fɔːs/
- (rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) enPR: fōrs, IPA(key): /fo(ː)ɹs/
- (non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA(key): /foəs/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)s
Etymology 1Edit
From Middle English force, fors, forse, from Old French force, from Late Latin or Vulgar Latin *fortia, from neuter plural of Latin fortis (“strong”).
NounEdit
force (countable and uncountable, plural forces)
- Strength or energy of body or mind; active power; vigour; might; capacity of exercising an influence or producing an effect.
- the force of an appeal, an argument, or a contract
- 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter 14, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, OCLC 1069526323:
- He was, in the full force of the words, a good man.
- Power exerted against will or consent; compulsory power; violence; coercion.
- 1591, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, part II
- which now they hold by force, and not by right
- 1591, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, part II
- (countable) Anything that is able to make a substantial change in a person or thing.
- (countable, physics) A physical quantity that denotes ability to push, pull, twist or accelerate a body and which has a direction and is measured in a unit dimensioned in mass × distance/time² (ML/T²): SI: newton (N); CGS: dyne (dyn)
- Something or anything that has the power to produce a physical effect upon something else, such as causing it to move or change shape.
- 2012 March 1, Henry Petroski, “Opening Doors”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 112-3:
- A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place. Applying a force tangential to the knob is essentially equivalent to applying one perpendicular to a radial line defining the lever.
- (countable) A group that aims to attack, control, or constrain.
- 1611, William Shakespeare, Cymbeline
- Is Lucius general of the forces?
- 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, OCLC 639762314, page 0124:
- "A fine man, that Dunwody, yonder," commented the young captain, as they parted, and as he turned to his prisoner. "We'll see him on in Washington some day. He is strengthening his forces now against Mr. Benton out there. […]."
- 2004 April 15, “Morning swoop in hunt for Jodi's killer”, in The Scotsman:
- For Lothian and Borders Police, the early-morning raid had come at the end one of biggest investigations carried out by the force, which had originally presented a dossier of evidence on the murder of Jodi Jones to the Edinburgh procurator-fiscal, William Gallagher, on 25 November last year.
- (uncountable) The ability to attack, control, or constrain.
- (countable) A magic trick in which the outcome is known to the magician beforehand, especially one involving the apparent free choice of a card by another person.
- (law) Legal validity.
- The law will come into force in January.
- (law) Either unlawful violence, as in a "forced entry", or lawful compulsion.
- (linguistics, semantics, pragmatics) Ability of an utterance or its element (word, form, prosody, ...) to effect a given meaning.
- 1962, J Gonda, The aspectual function of the R̥gvedic present and aorist, S̓-Gravenhage, Mouton, pages 43:
- When the aspectual force of the verbal categories weakens, the 'terminative', punctual or determinative value of the prefix gains in importance,...
- (humorous or science fiction, with the, often capitalized) A metaphysical and ubiquitous power from the fictional Star Wars universe created by George Lucas. See usage note. [1977]
- 1999 September 28, Mike Selvey, “Crenshaw vindicated by a chain reaction”, in The Guardian[1]:
- The Europeans tried, my goodness how they tried. But on the day the US proved too strong and too inspired. They were, dammit, just better. And when Leonard's putt dropped they clearly had the force with them as well.
- 2005, George Lucas, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, published 2005, spoken by Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid):
- The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.
- Synonym of police force (“typically with preceding "the"”)
Usage notesEdit
- Adjectives often applied to "force": military, cultural, economic, gravitational, electric, magnetic, strong, weak, positive, negative, attractive, repulsive, good, evil, dark, physical, muscular, spiritual, intellectual, mental, emotional, rotational, tremendous, huge.
- (science fiction): Outside of fiction, the force may be used as an alternative to invoking luck, destiny, or God. For example, the force was with him instead of luck was on his side, or may the force be with you instead of may God be with you.
HyponymsEdit
Derived termsEdit
Related termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
ReferencesEdit
Etymology 2Edit
From Middle English forcen, from Old French forcer, from Late Latin *fortiāre, from Latin fortia.
VerbEdit
force (third-person singular simple present forces, present participle forcing, simple past and past participle forced)
- (transitive) To violate (a woman); to rape. [from 14thc.]
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter v, in Le Morte Darthur, book V:
- For yf ye were suche fyfty as ye be / ye were not able to make resystence ageynst this deuyl / here lyeth a duchesse deede the whiche was the fayrest of alle the world wyf to syre Howel / duc of Bretayne / he hath murthred her in forcynge her / and has slytte her vnto the nauyl
- 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 1, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], OCLC 946730821:
- a young woman not farre from mee had headlong cast her selfe out of a high window, with intent to kill herselfe, only to avoid the ravishment of a rascally-base souldier that lay in her house, who offered to force her […].
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter v, in Le Morte Darthur, book V:
- (obsolete, reflexive, intransitive) To exert oneself, to do one's utmost. [from 14thc.]
- a. 1472, Thomas Malory, “Capitulum xxi”, in [Le Morte Darthur], book XVIII, [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, OCLC 71490786; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur […], London: David Nutt, […], 1889, OCLC 890162034:
- And I pray you for my sake to force yourselff there, that men may speke you worshyp.
- (transitive) To compel (someone or something) to do something. [from 15thc.]
- 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, OCLC 639762314, page 0105:
- Captain Edward Carlisle […] felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze, […]; he could not tell what this prisoner might do. He cursed the fate which had assigned such a duty, cursed especially that fate which forced a gallant soldier to meet so superb a woman as this under handicap so hard.
- 2011, Tim Webb & Fiona Harvey, The Guardian, 23 March:
- Housebuilders had warned that the higher costs involved would have forced them to build fewer homes and priced many homebuyers out of the market.
- (transitive) To constrain by force; to overcome the limitations or resistance of. [from 16thc.]
- 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 40, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book I, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], OCLC 946730821:
- Shall wee force the general law of nature, which in all living creatures under heaven is seene to tremble at paine?
- (transitive) To drive (something) by force, to propel (generally + prepositional phrase or adverb). [from 16thc.]
- 1697, “(please specify the book number)”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], OCLC 403869432:
- It stuck so fast, so deeply buried lay / That scarce the victor forced the steel away.
- c. 1591–1592, William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, scene iii]:
- to force the tyrant from his seat by war
- 1655, Thomas Fuller, James Nichols, editor, The Church History of Britain, […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), new edition, London: […] [James Nichols] for Thomas Tegg and Son, […], published 1837, OCLC 913056315:
- Ethelbert […] ordered that none should be forced into religion.
- 2007, The Guardian, 4 November:
- In a groundbreaking move, the Pentagon is compensating servicemen seriously hurt when an American tank convoy forced them off the road.
- (transitive) To cause to occur (despite inertia, resistance etc.); to produce through force. [from 16thc.]
- The comedian's jokes weren't funny, but I forced a laugh now and then.
- 2009, "All things to Althingi", The Economist, 23 July:
- The second problem is the economy, the shocking state of which has forced the decision to apply to the EU.
- (transitive) To forcibly open (a door, lock etc.). [from 17thc.]
- To force a lock.
- To obtain or win by strength; to take by violence or struggle; specifically, to capture by assault; to storm, as a fortress.
- (transitive, baseball) To create an out by touching a base in advance of a runner who has no base to return to while in possession of a ball which has already touched the ground.
- Jones forced the runner at second by stepping on the bag.
- (whist) To compel (an adversary or partner) to trump a trick by leading a suit that he/she does not hold.
- (archaic) To put in force; to cause to be executed; to make binding; to enforce.
- c. 1613, John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi
- What can the church force more?
- c. 1613, John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi
- (archaic) To provide with forces; to reinforce; to strengthen by soldiers; to man; to garrison.
- c. 1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act V, scene v], lines 5–7, page 150, column 1:
- Were they not forc’d with thoſe that ſhould be ours, / We might haue met them darefull, beard to beard, / And beate them backward home.
- (obsolete) To allow the force of; to value; to care for.
- 1594, William Shakespeare, Lvcrece (First Quarto), London: […] Richard Field, for Iohn Harrison, […], OCLC 236076664:
- For me, I force not argument a straw.
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
See alsoEdit
- Imperial unit: foot pound
- metric unit: newton
- coerce: To control by force.
Etymology 3Edit
From Middle English force, forz, fors, from Old Norse fors (“waterfall”), from Proto-Germanic *fursaz (“waterfall”). Cognate with Icelandic foss (“waterfall”), Norwegian foss (“waterfall”), Swedish fors (“waterfall”). Doublet of foss.
NounEdit
force (plural forces)
- (countable, Northern England) A waterfall or cascade.
- 1778, Thomas West, A Guide to the Lakes in Cumberland, Westmorland, and Lancashire
- to see the falls or force of the river Kent
- 1778, Thomas West, A Guide to the Lakes in Cumberland, Westmorland, and Lancashire
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
Etymology 4Edit
From Middle English forcen, forsen, a use of force, with confusion of farce (“to stuff”).
VerbEdit
force (third-person singular simple present forces, present participle forcing, simple past and past participle forced)
- To stuff; to lard; to farce.
- c. 1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act V, scene i]:
- Wit larded with malice, and malice forced with wit.
Derived termsEdit
Further readingEdit
- force at OneLook Dictionary Search
- force in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- force in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
AnagramsEdit
FrenchEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Middle French force, from Old French force, from Late Latin or Vulgar Latin *fortia, re-analyzed as a feminine singular from the neuter plural of Latin fortis. Compare Catalan força, Portuguese força, Italian forza, Spanish fuerza.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
force f (plural forces)
- force
- 1897, Henri Poincaré, “Les idées de Hertz sur la mécanique [The ideas of Hertz on mechanics]”, in Revue générale des sciences pures et appliquées [General Review of Pure and Applied Sciences][3], volume 8, page 734:
- — Qu'est-ce que la force ? C'est, répond Lagrange, une cause qui produit le mouvement d'un corps ou qui tend à le produire. — C'est, dira Kirchhoff, le produit de la masse par l'accélération. Mais alors, pourquoi ne pas dire que la masse est le quotient de la force par l'accélération ?
- "What is force? It is," answers Lagrange, "a cause which produces the movement of a body or which tends to produce it." "It is," Kirchhoff will say, "the product of mass by acceleration." But then why not say that mass is the quotient of force by acceleration?
- strength
SynonymsEdit
Derived termsEdit
AdjectiveEdit
force (invariable)
- (archaic) Many; a lot of; a great quantity of.
VerbEdit
force
- first/third-person singular present indicative of forcer
- first/third-person singular present subjunctive of forcer
- second-person singular imperative of forcer
Further readingEdit
- “force” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Middle FrenchEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Old French force.
NounEdit
force f (plural forces)
- force (physical effort; physical might)
DescendantsEdit
- French: force
Old FrenchEdit
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Late Latin or Vulgar Latin *fortia, re-analyzed as a feminine singular from the neuter plural of Latin fortis.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
force f (oblique plural forces, nominative singular force, nominative plural forces)
Related termsEdit
DescendantsEdit
- Middle French: force
- French: force
- Walloon: foice
- → Middle English: force / fors / forse
- English: force
PortugueseEdit
VerbEdit
force