enact

Etymology

It is formed from English en- + act,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from the noun act in the sense of a formal record or decree, and the verb act;^[2][6][4] the OED divides its senses between the two.^[2] It was probably modelled on Medieval Latin inactitō, inacticō or inactō, verbs found in British records,^[3][7][8] the first of which the OED records from 1432 in the sense "to enter in the public records".^[2] The Middle English verb, enacten, also had forms with initial in-, such as the participle inacted,^[9][8] and Skeat explains it as "to put in act".^[10] The noun act comes through Anglo-Norman acte from Latin āctum (“a thing done”) and āctus, from agō (“to drive, do”).^[11][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To enter in the public records: 1414, in the Rolls of Parliament, according to Barnhart.^[3][12] The OED's earliest record is of another sense, to represent on the stage, in Lydgate's translation of the history of Troy (1430),^[2] and Etymonline and Weekley also put the theatrical sense first.^[11][13]

Semantic evolution

The legislative sense, to make into law or decree, appears in the 1430s: the MED's first quotation is from the records of the London grocers in 1432–33,^[9] and the OED's from a letter of Edward IV in 1464.^[2] Etymonline dates it to the mid 15th century.^[11] From 1765, in Blackstone, the subject could be the statute itself, as in the enacting clause of an Act.^[2] The record sense died out by 1640.^[2] On the side of the verb act, enact also meant to accomplish or perform (1597 to 1616, in Shakespeare's Richard III), and to influence or inspire (1616 to 1647);^[2] Johnson (1755) defined it as "to act; to perform; to effect".^[14] Weekley quotes Polonius in Hamlet: "I did enact Julius Caesar".^[13] A noun enact, an enactment or a resolution, was used from 1467 to 1594,^[2][6] and Johnson still listed it as "purpose; determination".^[14] In Scots the verb was used reflexively for "to pledge oneself".^[15] The noun enactment is recorded from 1817.^[3][4]

Timeline

• 1414 – to enter in the public records, in the Rolls of Parliament.^[3]
• 1430 – to represent on the stage, to play a part (Lydgate).^[2]
• 1432–33 – to make into law, to ordain, in the records of the London grocers.^[9]
• 1464 – the legislative sense, in a letter of Edward IV.^[2]
• 1467 – noun enact, an enactment (obsolete by 1594).^[2]
• 1597 – to accomplish, to perform (obsolete by 1616).^[2]
• 1765 – of a statute: to decree, in Blackstone.^[2]
• 1817 – enactment.^[3]
• 1846 – to perform a ceremony.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To make (a bill) into law; to establish by legal authority: The council enacted a ban on fireworks.^{[16][6][17][2]}
2. To act out or perform, as a part in a play or a scene: The children enacted the story of the flood.^{[16][6][17][2]}
3. To perform (a ceremony or ritual).^[2]
4. (obsolete, 1467–1640) To enter in the public records.^[6][2][7]

Noun

1. (obsolete, 1467–1594) An enactment.^[6][2]

Word family

• enactable
• enactor
• unenacted
• enactive
• enactment
• preenact
• reenact

Related words

• act
• action
• agent

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
10. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
12. ^ Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
13. ^ a b Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
14. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
15. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
16. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
17. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster