compulser (French)

Where does "compulser" come from?

The French verb 'compulser' was borrowed from the Late Latin 'compulsāre', a term meaning 'push with force'[1]. This word functioned as an intensive form of the earlier Latin 'compellere', which meant 'compel' or 'impel'[1]. The Latin verb 'compellere' itself combines the prefix 'con-' with 'pellō', a root originating from the Proto-Indo-European '*pelh₂-' meaning 'to drive' or 'to strike'[2][3].

Open questions

• The derivation from Proto-Indo-European *pelh₂- relies on reconstructed forms that cannot be directly observed. [2] [3] [4] [5]
• The past participle pulsus is considered an analogy to vellō, suggesting the logical phonetic outcome *poltos might otherwise have occurred. [3]

Full etymology tree

• compulser (French), 'to consult'
  • borrowed compulsāre (Late Latin)
    • derived compellere (Latin), 'inflection of compellō:'
      • compound con- (Latin), 'Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing together of several objects'
      • compound pello (Latin), 'to push, drive, hurl, impel, propel; expel, banish, eject, thrust out'
        • inherited *pelnō (Proto-Italic), 'to approach, go to'
          • derived *pelh₂- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to approach'
            • derived *pel- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to cover, to wrap'

Ancestors

• compello (Latin)

Descendants and derived words

• compulsa (Romanian)

Sources

1. compulser (French) - Wiktionary
2. compello (Latin) - Wiktionary
3. pello (Latin) - Wiktionary
4. pelh₂- (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary
5. pelnō (Proto-Italic) - Wiktionary

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris