English
enact
Enact comes from Latin ago ‘set in motion’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEago‘set in motion’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEactumpast participle of ago
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500enacten
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1593enact
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history not traced here.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEago‘set in motion’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEactumpast participle of ago
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500enacten
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1593enact
Earliest quotation: c. 1593, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]: “The king enacts more wonders than a man.”
Linked words
through Latin ago ‘set in motion’
agency, agent, act, activity, active, actual, reaction, examine, examination, actor, agenda, transaction, ambiguous, squat, agile, ambiguity, agility, activate, assay, agitation, radium, cogent, actuator, actuation, exigent, redaction, inexact, actuate, redact, 94 more
through Latin actum
Today it means
verb To make (a bill) into law.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin ago / enact