Enforce | Vocabulary
About this video
Enforce is a verb meaning to make sure a rule or law is followed. It comes from the Old French enforcier, from en (in or on) and force (strength), and the video explores related en/em words like reinforce, encode and embolden, plus the noun enforcement.
You'll be able to
- explain what enforce means and use it in a sentence.
- explain how the parts en- and force build the meaning of enforce.
- recognise en- or em- meaning "in" or "on" in other words.
Key words
- enforce
- To make sure that a rule or law is followed.
- enforcement
- The act of enforcing; "law enforcement" means groups like the police who make sure laws are followed.
- reinforce
- To strengthen something by putting more force into it.
- encode
- To put information into code, to keep it secret or give a computer instructions.
- embolden
- To give someone confidence, literally to put boldness in them.
Transcript
- [Instructor] Hey, how do you do wordsmiths? This video is about the word enforce. Enforce, it's a verb. It means to make sure that a rule or law is followed. You might usually hear it in the context of enforcing a law. Right? If I drive too fast, local authorities can enforce the speed limit by issuing me a speeding ticket.
Now, the word origin here is kind of a violent one, this word comes from the old French, enforcier, which means to use force on someone or something. So, EN means in, or on. When it's EN, 99% of the time, that means it has a French origin, and sometimes it'll appear as EM too.
Force means strength or power, it ultimately comes from a Latin word, fortis, which just means strength. So when you enforce, you're using your strength on someone. Let's take 10 seconds to come up with some more English words that contain N, or M, and force. I'll put on some music, and I'll meet you back here in 10 seconds.
All right, let's do it. (energetic music) Right, here's three I came up with. Reinforce, which means to strengthen something, right, to put more force in it. Encode, which means to make information secret, or to give computerized instructions. A spy might carry an encoded letter, or I might convert a video file from one file type to another using an encoder program.
Right? I'm putting it in, or into, code. And embolden, which means to give someone confidence, right? Literally, to put boldness in them. And I know it's EM there, but M means the same thing as N. Let us use the force, as it were, and make some sentences. "The admiral enforced the law on his enemies, but he ignored the law for his friends."
So the admiral made sure that his enemies had to follow the law, but not his friends. There he is signing a little decree. The noun form of enforce is enforcement, which you're most likely to read or hear in the phrase "law enforcement," which is to say the police, sheriff's department, Department of Justice, right?
Law enforcement is empowered to enforce the law. They represent the power of the state to say things like, "Hey, it's against the law to hurt people." And if someone hurts people, the law has the power to stop them, right? That's what it means to have enforcement powers.
Okay, you can learn anything. David, out.
Video © Khan Academy, used under CC BY-NC-SA. Watch on Khan Academy. Puzzicle is not affiliated with Khan Academy.