instigate
English
Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for instigate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)
Etymology
From the Latin īnstīgātus, past participle of īnstīgāre (“to instigate”), from prefix in- (“in”) + *stigare, akin to stinguere (“push, goad”). Akin to German stechen (“to prick”), English stick.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɪnstəɡeɪt/
Audio (US) (file)
Verb
instigate (third-person singular simple present instigates, present participle instigating, simple past and past participle instigated)
- (transitive) to incite; to bring about by urging or encouraging
- to instigate a riot
- (transitive) to goad or urge (a person) forward, especially to wicked actions; to provoke
- to instigate someone to a crime
- (Can we date this quote by Bishop Warburton?)
- He hath only instigated his blackest agents to the very extent of their malignity.
Derived terms
Translations
to goad or urge forward; to set on; to provoke; to incite
Further reading
- instigate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- instigate in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
Esperanto
Latin
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