Word of the Day ... perforce ... \per-FORSS\ DEFINITION adverb : by force of circumstances EXAMPLES The author of the history was a court historian and his account is perforce biased in favor of the aristocracy. Beyond an initial campaign or two, European monarchs lack the money to continue their wars and must perforce borrow it from somewhere. — From a blog by Kenneth Anderson on WashingtonPost, February 9, 2014 DID YOU KNOW? English speakers borrowed par force from Anglo-French in the 14th century. Par meant by (from Latin per) and the Anglo-French word force had the same meaning as its English equivalent, which was already in use by then. At first, perforce meant quite literally by physical coercion. That meaning is no longer used today, but it was still prevalent in William Shakespeares lifetime (1564-1616). He rushd into my house and took perforce my ring away, wrote the Bard in The Comedy of Errors. The force of circumstances sense of perforce had also come into use by Shakespeares day. In Henry IV, Part 2, we find ... your health; the which, if you give oer to stormy passion, must perforce decay. Read more at merriam-webster/word-of-the-day/#upj7WgqH6hPj67HI.99
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 09:00:50 +0000
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