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attract

Etymology and origin of the English word attract

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1425
Borrowed from
Latin attractus
Ultimate origin
Latin (attraho)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /əˈtɹækt/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English attracten, borrowed from Latin attractus (“drawn to”), the past participle of attrahere (“to draw to”),[2][3][4][5] from ad (“to”) and trahere (“to draw, pull”) (see tract).[3][2] Barnhart allows it to be a back-formation from attraction.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In medicine, to draw out diseased matter, as a poultice does: probably before 1425, in a translation of Chauliac's surgery.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The body's absorbing of fluids and nourishment was also called attracting (1540).[6][3] Of physical forces such as magnetism it is from the 17th century (1627 in the OED).[3][6] The figurative sense, to draw by pleasing qualities, is from the 1630s,[3] and to draw attention or interest generally follows.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 1425 – to draw out diseased matter.[2]
  • 1540 – to absorb fluids.[6]
  • 1627 – of physical forces.[6]
  • 1630s – to draw by pleasing qualities.[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To cause to come near or draw towards, as a magnet does.
  2. To arouse interest or admiration in; to allure.
  3. To draw notice or attention.

Word family

  • attractable
  • attractor
  • attractableness
  • attractingly
  • reattract
  • unattracting

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Attract.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/attract. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·