enforcer
/enˈfɔːsə/en-FAWR-sur
/ɛnˈfɔɹsɚ/en-FAWR-sur
Meaningone that puts strength into
Common meaning: a person or thing that enforces
- enin, into
- forcstrong, braveLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 770 · scan
- eragent ending: one who
‘in, into’ + ‘strong, brave’ → enforcer
Journey through time
- Latinfortis‘strong, brave’
- Frenchenforcer
- Englishenforce‘to make sure a rule is obeyed’
- Englishformed in English from enforceenforcer‘a person or thing that enforces’ · today
Sources & notes
Inferred source: no dictionary we use has an entry for this exact word. Its history is worked out from closely related, listed words in the same family, and we are trusting that link, so bear that in mind. Inferred meaning: one that puts strength into. It can be inferred from any of: enforce.
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from enforce + -er (inferred: this exact word is not listed in our dictionaries).
Roots
- fortis Latin “strong, brave”
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