different between encourage vs courage

English

Alternative forms

• incourage (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English encouragen, encoragen, from Anglo-Norman encoragier, from Old French encoragier from en- +? corage "courage". Displaced native Middle English belden, bielden (“to encourage”) (from Old English bieldan (“to encourage”)), Middle English bealden, balden (“to encourage”) (from Old English bealdian (“to encourage, make bold”)), Middle English herten (“to encourage, enhearten”) (from Old English hiertan, hyrtan (“to enhearten”)), Old English elnian (“to encourage, strengthen”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?n?k???d?/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?n?k???d?/
• Hyphenation: en?cour?age

Verb

encourage (third-person singular simple present encourages, present participle encouraging, simple past and past participle encouraged) (transitive)

1. To mentally support; to motivate, give courage, hope or spirit.

   I encouraged him during his race.

2. To spur on, strongly recommend.

   We encourage the use of bicycles in the town centre.

3. To foster, give help or patronage

   The royal family has always encouraged the arts in word and deed

Synonyms

• bield
• embolden

Antonyms

• becourage
• discourage

Derived terms

• encouragement
• encouraging
• encouragingly

Related terms

• courage

Translations

French

Verb

encourage

1. inflection of encourager:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. singular imperative

English

Etymology

From Middle English corage, from Old French corage (French courage), from Vulgar Latin *cor?ticum, from Latin cor (“heart”). Distantly related to cardiac (“of the heart”), which is from Greek, but from the same Proto-Indo-European root. Displaced Middle English elne, ellen, from Old English ellen (“courage, valor”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?k???d?/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?k???d?/, /?k???d?/
  • (accents without the "Hurry-furry" merger)
  • (accents with the "Hurry-furry" merger)

Noun

courage (usually uncountable, plural courages)

1. The quality of being confident, not afraid or easily intimidated, but without being incautious or inconsiderate.

2. The ability to overcome one's fear, do or live things which one finds frightening.
   • (Can we date this quote?), Aristotle, Rhetoric, 1.9.8

     ...courage is the thing by which they are able to take useful actions while amidst hazards...
3. The ability to maintain one's will or intent despite either the experience of fear, frailty, or frustration; or the occurrence of adversity, difficulty, defeat or reversal.
   • 1841, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

     Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.

   • 1942, C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

     “Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality.”

   • 2008, Maya Angelou, address for the 2008 Cornell University commencement

     Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:courage

Derived terms

Related terms

• cardiac

Translations

Verb

courage (third-person singular simple present courages, present participle couraging, simple past and past participle couraged)

1. (obsolete) To encourage. [15^th-17^thc.]
   • 1530, William Tyndale, "An Answer unto Sir Thomas More's Dialogue":

     Paul writeth unto Timothy, to instruct him, to teach him, to exhort, to courage him, to stir him up,

See also

• fearlessness
• bield

French

Etymology

cœur +? -age or Middle French corage, from Old French corage, from Vulgar Latin *coraticum, from Latin cor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ku.?a?/

Noun

courage m (plural courages)

1. courage

   Synonym: bravoure

Derived terms

• bon courage
• courageux
  • courageusement
• décourager
  • décourageant
  • découragement
• encourager
  • encourageant
  • encouragement
• prendre son courage à deux mains

Descendants

• ? Bulgarian: ????? (kuraž)
• ? Macedonian: ????? (kuraž)
• ? Romanian: curaj
• ? Russian: ????? (kuraž)

Interjection

courage !

1. chin up! keep going! take heart!

Usage notes

"bon courage !" has a slightly different meaning: "good luck!".

Further reading

• “courage” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).