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Jul 24, 2025
This week’s theme
Back-formations

This week’s words
lase
ablute
insurrect
incent
tase

incent
Photo: ntenny

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

incent

PRONUNCIATION:
(in-SENT)

MEANING:
verb tr.: To provide a reward or benefit to induce action.

ETYMOLOGY:
Back-formation from incentive, from incinere (to strike a tune), from in- (intensive prefix) + canere (to sing). Earliest documented use: 1844.

USAGE:
“You have households that don’t want to borrow, that can’t be incented to borrow because rates can’t be pushed much lower.”
Not So Broken; The Economist (London, UK); Oct 4, 2012.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Only the stupid steal from the rich. The clever steal from the poor. The law usually protects the rich. -Carsten Jensen, author (b. 24 Jul 1952)

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