different between instinct vs impetus

English

Etymology

From Latin ?nstinctus, past participle of ?nstingu? (“to incite, to instigate”), from in (“in, on”) + stingu? (“to prick”). This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??n.st??kt/

Noun

instinct (countable and uncountable, plural instincts)

1. A natural or inherent impulse or behaviour.

   Many animals fear fire by instinct.
2. An intuitive reaction not based on rational conscious thought.

   an instinct for order; to be modest by instinct

   Debbie's instinct was to distrust John.

Derived terms

• instinctively
• instinctive

Translations

Adjective

instinct (comparative more instinct, superlative most instinct)

1. (archaic) Imbued, charged (with something).
   • 1838, Henry Brougham, Historical Sketches of Statesmen Who Flourished in the Time of George III

     a noble performance, instinct with sound principle

   • 1857, Charlotte Brontë, The Professor

     Her eyes, whose colour I had not at first known, so dim were they with repressed tears, so shadowed with ceaseless dejection, now, lit by a ray of the sunshine that cheered her heart, revealed irids of bright hazel – irids large and full, screened with long lashes; and pupils instinct with fire.

   • 1928, HP Lovecraft, ‘The Call of Cthulhu’:

     This thing, which seemed instinct with a fearsome and unnatural malignancy, was of a somewhat bloated corpulence, and squatted evilly on a rectangular block or pedestal covered with undecipherable characters.

Further reading

• instinct in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• instinct in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French instinct, from Latin ?nstinctus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?st??(k)t/
• Hyphenation: in?stinct
• Rhymes: -??kt

Noun

instinct n (plural instincten)

1. instinct (innate response, impulse or behaviour)

Derived terms

• instinctief
• instinctmatig
• moederinstinct
• vaderinstinct

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ?nstinctus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??s.t??/

Noun

instinct m (plural instincts)

1. instinct
2. gut feeling

Related terms

• instinctif

Further reading

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

Romanian

Etymology

From French instinct

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /in?stinkt/

Noun

instinct n (plural instincte)

1. instinct

Declension

Related terms

• instinctiv

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin impetus (“a rushing upon, an attack, assault, onset”), from impet? (“to rush upon, attack”), from in- (“upon”) + pet? (“to seek, fall upon”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??m.p?.t?s/
• Hyphenation: im?pe?tus

Noun

impetus (plural impetuses)

1. Anything that impels; a stimulating factor.

   The outbreak of World War II in 1939 gave a new impetus to receiver development.

   • 2011, Phil McNulty, Euro 2012: Montenegro 2-2 England [1]

     In a single moment Montenegro and their supporters were given fresh impetus and encouragement. Beciraj tested Hart with a low shot before teenager Phil Jones, on his England debut, suffered an anxious moment when Stevan Jovetic went down under his challenge, leaving the youngster clearly relieved to see referee Stark wave away Montenegro's appeals.

2. A force, either internal or external, that impels; an impulse.
3. The force or energy associated with a moving body; a stimulus.
4. An activity in response to a stimulus.

Related terms

• impetuous

Translations

See also

• wind at one's back

Further reading

• impetus in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• impetus in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• impetus at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• imputes, stumpie, time's up, uptimes

Latin

Etymology

From impet? (“to rush upon, attack”), from in- (“upon”) + pet? (“to seek, fall upon”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /?im.pe.tus/, [??mp?t??s?]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /?im.pe.tus/, [?imp?t?us]

Noun

impetus m (genitive impet?s); fourth declension

1. an attack, an assault, a charge
2. a rapid motion
3. a making for

Declension

Fourth-declension noun.

Descendants

References

• impetus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• impetus in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• impetus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• impetus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book?^[2], London: Macmillan and Co.
• impetus in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.