inveigle
/ɪnˈviːɡəl/ or /ɪnˈveɪɡəl/
verb
Origin
Old Norse
aveugla — to blind, to delude
Overview
Meaning Now
- to persuade (someone) to do something by means of deception, flattery, or clever manipulation.
Language path
Old Norse → Middle French → English
Earliest form
inveiglen
Earliest period
Late Middle English (14th c.)
Journey
The word entered English during a period of heavy borrowing from French, itself recently influenced by Old Norse loanwords after the Viking presence in Normandy.
Evolution
- Old Norse (c. 900‑1300)
aveugla
“to blind, to delude”
- Middle French (13th‑14th c.)
enveugler
“to blind, to deceive”
Borrowed from Old Norse; the prefix en- reflects French verb formation.
- Early Modern English (16th c.)
inveigle
“to persuade by deception”
English added the prefix in‑ by analogy with other French‑derived verbs.
Connections
Word parts
in-
prefix
analogical prefix resembling Latin in‑, not original Old Norse element
veigle
stem
from Old Norse aveugla ‘to blind, to delude’
Related across languages
French
enveugler
to blind, to deceive
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External references use DefinedTerm semantics.