amerce

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /əˈmɝs/ UK /əˈmɜːs/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to punish by an arbitrary fine or penalty

The court could amerce any tenant who broke the bylaw.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to punish by an arbitrary... fine penalize mulct punish

Opposites

reward compensate

Word family

Derived forms amercementamerceableamercer

Related forms mercy

Etymology

From Anglo-French amercier ('to fine'), from the phrase estre a merci ('to be at the mercy of'), from a ('at') + merci ('mercy'), from Latin merces ('reward, pay, mercy').

merci xno merces Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# amerce

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /əˈmɝs/
**IPA (UK):** /əˈmɜːs/

## Meanings
1. to punish by an arbitrary fine or penalty

## Examples
- The court could amerce any tenant who broke the bylaw.

## Synonyms
- fine
- penalize
- mulct
- punish

## Antonyms
- reward
- compensate

## Derived Forms
- amercement
- amerceable
- amercer

## Related Forms
- mercy

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: merci
- Root: merces

## Etymology
From Anglo-French amercier ('to fine'), from the phrase estre a merci ('to be at the mercy of'), from a ('at') + merci ('mercy'), from Latin merces ('reward, pay, mercy').

## AI Etymology
Amerce is a verb meaning "to punish by an arbitrary fine or penalty". Historically, it is from Anglo-French amercier ('to fine'), from the phrase estre a merci ('to be at the mercy of'), from a ('at') + merci ('mercy'), from Latin merces ('reward, pay, mercy'). The visible construction is part of the etymology: amerce is not just an unanalyzed simple word. The historical chain links Old French merci with Latin merces. Close English family members include amercement, amerceable, amercer, and mercy.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

markdown