entice
/ɪnˈtaɪs/ verb
Forms entices enticing enticed
- verb (transitive) To lure; to attract by arousing desire or hope. “I enticed the little bear into the trap with a pot of honey.”
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English enticen, from Old French enticier (“to stir up or excite”), from a Vulgar Latin *intitiāre (“I set on fire”), from in- + titiō (“firebrand (tool)”), from Proto-Italic *tītjō (“heating”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *teih₁- (“to become hot, melt or to end”).
Webster’s 1913
- verb To draw on, by exciting hope or desire; to allure; to attract; as, the bait enticed the fishes. Often in a bad sense: To lead astray; to induce to evil; to tempt; as, the sirens enticed them to listen.
Etymology [OE. entisen, enticen, OF. enticier, entichier; pref. en- (L. in) + a word of uncertain origin, cf. OF. atisier to stir a fire, provoke, L. titio firebrand, or MHG. zicken to push.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “entice”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details