rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryRoot: in-
Latin

in-

in, into, on, upon

Forms

  • in-
  • im- — Used before b, m, or p in Latin.
  • il- — Used before l in Latin.
  • ir- — Used before r in Latin.
  • en- — Developed in French in some words later borrowed into English.

Origin

Reconstructed Proto-Indo-European *en, ‘in.’

Note

Identical spellings can hide two different prefixes: this one indicates position or direction, while the other means ‘not.’

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A person sees urgent litter after a storm and is moved to join neighbors cleaning a park, internal drive to act.
verb

impel

im-PEL/ɪmˈpel/

Drive or urge someone to act.

Etymology
imLatinin, into, on, upon
+pelLatinpush or drive

The pieces convey pushing or driving onward. That physical image also describes an influence or feeling that drives someone to act.

Full entry

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