yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

Enforce | Vocabulary | Khan Academy


2m read
·Nov 10, 2024

Hey, how do you do wordsmiths? This video is about the word enforce.

Enforce is 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 "en" or "em" and "force." I'll put on some music, and I'll meet you back here in 10 seconds. Right? Let's do it.

[Music]

All right, here's three I came up with.

Reinforce, which means to strengthen something—right? To put more force in it.

Um, 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.

More Articles

View All
Breaking Addiction is Socially Unacceptable
If you drink alcohol or if you take some kind of drug regularly, tried to follow any thought experiment. What events do you most look forward to? I will bet you there are the events where you get to do these things. So if you drink alcohol, you look forwa…
Shipwreck Hunter Unearths Lost History and Treasures | Best Job Ever
When I tell people what I do, there’s a sort of complete silence till they process what does that mean and how could somebody actually have a job like that. “Get the metal detector! I’m David Mearns and I’m a shipwreck hunter. In terms of the significanc…
Summiting the World’s Most Dangerous Mountain | Podcast | Overheard at National Geographic
We’re high on a snowy mountain in Pakistan where a group of Nepalese climbers are struggling through harsh winds. It’s two o’clock in the evening. Think this is one of the hottest climbs we have ever met. [Music] That’s Ming Maggioja Sherpa. He goes by …
Worked example: Product rule with table | Derivative rules | AP Calculus AB | Khan Academy
The following table lists the values of functions F and H and of their derivatives f prime and H prime for x is equal to 3. So, let’s just tell us when x is equal to three, the value of the function is six. F of three is six. You could view it that way: H…
What Is Art?
What is art? Is this art? What about this? This most would hesitate to call this art, unless it’s the art of cruelty. But then again, that’s most, not all. Because as dark as this might seem, someone out there thinks of it as art. And who are we to say th…
Investigative Journalist Mariana van Zeller Reacts to Intense Moments in the Field | Nat Geo
I’m Mariana Vanel, and this season of Traffic was a whirlwind. Oh, this is so crazy! Like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, eight arm guys like walking right towards us. Join me on this incredible journey of unprecedented underworld access. How far up do you think the…