Entice

How to spell entice

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce entice

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does entice mean?

1. verbTo attract or tempt someone by offering something appealing.

Entice in a sentence

• The retailer cut prices to entice shoppers back into the store.

• A free trial month is meant to entice new subscribers.

Where does entice come from?

Language of origin: French

Entice arrived in English in the 1300s from the Old French verb enticier, which meant 'to incite, provoke, or stir up'. Behind that lies a Vulgar Latin form reconstructed as intitiare, meaning literally 'to set on fire', built on the Latin noun titio, which named a burning brand or smouldering log. The idea travelled from kindling an actual flame to kindling a desire in someone, so the modern sense became 'to tempt or lure by offering something attractive'. The slightly surprising spelling, with that soft -tice ending sounded as a hard 'tice', is a relic of the French spelling rather than anything phonetic in English, which is exactly why writers sometimes hesitate over it. Knowing the fiery origin, that an enticement once meant lighting a spark, can help fix the unusual middle of the word in memory.

How the word is built

• en- (to cause, put into)
• tice (from Latin titio: a firebrand, something that kindles)