Dictionary / encourage
encourage
- verb
- from Anglo-Norman
To mentally support; to motivate, give courage, hope or spirit.
1 All current definitions
Every sense of “encourage” in current use, as recorded by Wiktionary. Older and obsolete senses are kept separately.
verb
- transitiveTo mentally support; to motivate, give courage, hope or spirit.
I encouraged him during his race.
- transitiveTo spur on, strongly recommend.
We encourage the use of bicycles in the town centre.
- transitiveTo foster, give help or patronage.
The royal family has always encouraged the arts in word and deed.
Cross-check: WordNet senses (3)
- verbcontribute to the progress or growth of — also: promote, advance, boost, further
- verbinspire with confidence; give hope or courage to
- verbspur on
2 History of the word
The etymology, the path the word travelled, and the words built from it.
The word’s journey, newest to oldest:
- English (today)encourage
- Middle Englishencouragen
- Anglo-Normanencoragier
- Old Frenchencoragier
From Middle English encouragen, encoragen, from Anglo-Norman encoragier, from Old French encoragier. Displaced native Old English hiertan, tyhtan, and trymman. By surface analysis, en- + courage.
Derivatives — words built from “encourage”
Related terms
Want to go deeper? See also “encourage” on Etymonline ↗
3 Original language
Where “encourage” came from before it was English.
4 Original meaning
What the word meant at the oldest point the record reaches.
Wiktionary’s etymology does not give a separate meaning for the earliest form of “encourage”, so we don’t state one. The historical dictionary entry below shows how the word was understood in 1913.
Historical meaning — Webster’s 1913
A historical record, labelled as such: some of these senses are dated or have since shifted.
encourage v. t. [F. encourager; pref. en- (L. in) + courage courage. See Courage.]
- To give courage to; to inspire with courage, spirit, or hope; to raise, or to increase, the confidence of; to animate; enhearten; to incite; to help forward; -- the opposite of discourage.
5 Use it with confidence
Model sentences from the sources, matched to the meaning they show. Read each one aloud, then make your own in the game.
verbMeaning: To mentally support; to motivate, give courage, hope or spirit.
I encouraged him during his race.
Delia's coach encouraged her to focus on the positives.
verbMeaning: To spur on, strongly recommend.
We encourage the use of bicycles in the town centre.
We encourage you to cycle instead of taking the car.
verbMeaning: To foster, give help or patronage.
The royal family has always encouraged the arts in word and deed.
In addition the Marquess built a brickworks adjacent to the colliery, and also greatly improved the harbour to encourage coastal shipping.1960 January 28, Iain D. O. Frew, “The Brora Colliery Tramway”, in Railway Magazine, page 55:
verbMeaning: spur on
His financial success encouraged him to look for a wife
Three steps to owning it
- Pick one meaning above and read its model sentence out loud.
- Say who or what the word is about in your own life, then build a sentence around that.
- Check it against the definition: would a careful reader understand exactly that meaning?
6 The mastery game
Play it here, or print it and do it with pen and paper. At the end you will know the meanings, history, origin and original meaning — and you will have used the word yourself.
Say it, then spell it
encourage
/ɪnˈkʌɹ.ɪd͡ʒ/ · en·cour·age
Say the word out loud three times, slowly. Notice the stressed syllable. When you are ready, hide it and spell it from memory.
Activate Words · Word-mastery worksheet · Name: ______________________ Date: __________
encourage
/ɪnˈkʌɹ.ɪd͡ʒ/ · en·cour·age · verb
Step 1 — Say it and write it
Say “encourage” out loud three times. Then cover the word and write it three times from memory.
Step 2 — Know every meaning
Read each definition. Then write it again in your own words.
Step 3 — Which meaning is it?
“I encouraged him during his race.”
Circle the meaning used.
“We encourage the use of bicycles in the town centre.”
Circle the meaning used.
“The royal family has always encouraged the arts in word and deed.”
Circle the meaning used.
Step 4 — History and origin
Write the word’s journey back in time (each language and form):
Write three words built from “encourage” and what each means:
Step 5 — Original meaning
Read the etymology on the page. What does it tell you about the word’s earlier meaning?
How does that original meaning connect to the meanings today?
Step 6 — Use it yourself
☐ I can explain its meanings ☐ I know its history ☐ I know its original language ☐ I know its original meaning ☐ I can use it confidently
Answer key — encourage
Which meaning, sentence 1: B. To mentally support; to motivate, give courage, hope or spirit.
Which meaning, sentence 2: C. To spur on, strongly recommend.
Which meaning, sentence 3: A. To foster, give help or patronage.
Origin: B. Anglo-Norman (Anglo-Norman encoragier)
Journey: English encourage ← Middle English encouragen ← Anglo-Norman encoragier ← Old French encoragier
Some derivatives: disencourage, encourageable, encouragee, encouragement, encourager, encouraging, encouragingly, overencourage
Etymology: From Middle English encouragen, encoragen, from Anglo-Norman encoragier, from Old French encoragier. Displaced native Old English hiertan, tyhtan, and trymman. By surface analysis, en- + courage.
Sources: Wiktionary “encourage” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/encourage#English), CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org; Princeton WordNet 3.0; Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913, public domain) via GCIDE. Worksheet from https://activatewords.com/w/encourage