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.

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

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