urge

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɝd͡ʒ/; /ɜːd͡ʒ/ (UK)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin urgēre (“to press hard, push forward, drive, compel”),^[2][3][4][5] borrowed under the influence of the earlier English urgent.^[3] De Vaan derives the Latin verb perhaps from a PIE *uerǵʰ-, to tie, bind, via the notion of weighing down on,^[2] the root also of Lithuanian veržti, to squeeze, and Old English wrecan, to drive (see wreak).^[2][3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To press, impel, force onward: about 1555 in MWU, 1560 in Barnhart and the OED, the 1550s in Etymonline.^[5][3][6][2]

Semantic evolution

To press a point on someone's attention is from 1560,^[6] to entreat or plead with someone from 1568 (the 1560s),^[6][2] and to advocate a course earnestly from 1595.^[6] The noun, an impelling force or impulse, is from before 1618 (the 1610s);^[3][2][6] the Century Dictionary (1902) marked it rare, and the OED found it in frequent use only from about 1910.^[2] In dialect from Cheshire to Kent urge meant to shove or push.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 1555 – to press onward.^[5]
• 1560 – to press upon attention.^[6]
• 1568 – to entreat.^[6]
• 1595 – to advocate.^[6]
• before 1618 – the noun.^[3]
• c. 1910 – the noun in frequent use.^[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To try earnestly to persuade; to plead with or exhort.
2. To recommend or insist on earnestly: to urge caution.
3. To drive or force onward.

Noun

1. A strong impulse or desire to do something.

Word family

• urger
• urgingly
• overurge

Related words

• urgent
• urgency
• wreak
• wrack

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ 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)