entice

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English enticen, also inticen,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French enticier (“to stir up (a fire), excite, incite”),^{[4][5][6][3][7]} in Old Northern French enticher.^[6][8] Anglo-Norman enticer is recorded from about 1136–65, meaning to incite, goad, coax or tempt.^[9] The French verb is usually traced to Vulgar Latin *intītiō (“to set on fire”),^{[4][10][11][3][5][8][12][7]} formed from in- (“in”) and tītiō (“firebrand”),^{[4][10][3][5]} or, according to Hoad and the OED, a form *tītius standing for it.^[7][6] The Latin noun is itself of uncertain origin.^[4][11][5] Klein compares French tison (“firebrand”) and attiser (“to stir up a fire, provoke”),^[5] and Skeat compares Italian attizzare (“to set on fire”).^[8] The OED compares the obsolete English parallel form attice, and Weekley notes that the shortened tice is older than either.^[6][12]

Earliest recorded meaning

To incite or instigate someone to evil or violence, to tempt to sin, or to provoke to anger: about 1280, in the South English Legendary, where the devil "hadde entyced þe gywes" to bring about Christ's death.^[2][11] The OED's first record is in Robert of Gloucester's Chronicle (1297).^[6]

Semantic evolution

Ayto calls it an "inflammatory sort of word": it kept much of the heat of its fiery origin at first, and Grafton's chronicle could still say in 1568 that a master was "enticed and provoked" by the Duke of Burgundy.^[13] The milder sense, to allure or attract by offering pleasure or advantage, appeared almost at once, by 1303 in Mannyng's Handlyng Synne,^[6][4][11] and by the 17th century the shift from incitement to allurement was all but complete;^[13] the OED's last record of "incite" is from 1628.^[6] Sir Thomas Browne used it in 1646 for attracting physically.^[6] Johnson (1755) defined it as to allure or draw by blandishments or hopes, especially to something sinful or destructive.^[14] The noun enticement followed the same path, from incitement (probably before 1300, in Arthour and Merlin) to allurement (1549).^[11]

Timeline

• c. 1280 – to incite or instigate to evil; to provoke.^[2][11] The OED dates it to 1297.^[6]
• 1303 – to allure, attract by the offer of pleasure or advantage.^[6][4]
• 1646 – to attract physically (obsolete).^[6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To attract or lure someone by arousing hope or desire; to tempt: The smell of fresh bread enticed customers into the bakery.^[15][3][6]
2. To lead someone astray; to draw into wrongdoing.^[3][14]
3. (obsolete, 1297–1628) To incite or instigate; to provoke.^[6][3][2]

Word family

• enticement
• enticer
• enticingly
• enticingness

Related words

• tice
• attice

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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)
3. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
10. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
11. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
12. ^ a b Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
13. ^ a b Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
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. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins