Word of the Day

: July 21, 2020

inculcate

verb in-KUL-kayt

What It Means

: to teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions

inculcate in Context

"[Edgar Allan Poe] was in general not a didactic writer; in fact, he criticized stories and poems that sought to inculcate virtue and convey the truth." — Paul Lewis, The Baltimore Sun, 12 May 2020

"Dogs like routine.... They know when it is time for dinner, time for a walk. And if you have not inculcated these types of routines for them, some dogs will have anxiety when they are alone." — Dr. Terri Bright, quoted in The Boston Globe, 17 Apr. 2020

Did You Know?

Inculcate derives from the past participle of the Latin verb inculcare, meaning "to tread on." In Latin, inculcare possesses both literal and figurative meanings, referring to either the act of walking over something or to that of impressing something upon the mind, often by way of steady repetition. It is the figurative sense that survives with inculcate, which was first used in English in the 16th century. Inculcare was formed in Latin by combining the prefix in- with calcare, meaning "to trample," and ultimately derives from the noun calx, "heel."