different between purpose vs incentive

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?p?p?s/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?p??p?s/
• Rhymes: -??(?)p?s

Etymology 1

From Middle English purpos, from Old French purposer (“to propose”), from Latin pr? (“forth”) + pono, hence Latin propono, proponere, with conjugation altered based on poser.

Noun

purpose (countable and uncountable, plural purposes)

1. An objective to be reached; a target; an aim; a goal.
2. A result that is desired; an intention.
3. The act of intending to do something; resolution; determination.
   • 2013, Phil McNulty, "[2]", BBC Sport, 1 September 2013:

     United began with more purpose in the early phase of the second half and Liverpool were grateful for Glen Johnson's crucial block from Young's goalbound shot.
4. The subject of discourse; the point at issue.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Spenser to this entry?)

5. The reason for which something is done, or the reason it is done in a particular way.

6. (obsolete) Instance; example.

Synonyms

• (target): aim, goal, object, target; See also Thesaurus:goal
• (intention): aim, plan, intention; See also Thesaurus:intention
• (determination): determination, intention, resolution
• (subject of discourse): matter, subject, topic
• (reason for doing something): reason

Hyponyms

• common purpose
• metapurpose

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English purposen, from Old French purposer (“to propose”).

Verb

purpose (third-person singular simple present purposes, present participle purposing, simple past and past participle purposed)

1. (transitive) To have set as one's purpose; resolve to accomplish; intend; plan.
2. (transitive, passive) To design for some purpose. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
3. (obsolete, intransitive) To discourse.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Edmund Spenser to this entry?)

Derived terms

• purposed
• purposer
• purposive
• on purpose

Synonyms

• (have set as one's purpose): aim, intend, mean, plan, set out
• (designed for some purpose): intended

Translations

References

• “purpose” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• “purpose”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, ?ISBN
• "purpose" in WordNet 2.0, Princeton University, 2003.

English

Etymology

From Medieval Latin incentivus (“that strikes up or sets the tune”), from incinere (“to strike up”), from in (“in, on”) + canere (“to sing”). The formation appears to have been influenced by incendere ' to set on fire'.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?s?nt?v/
• Rhymes: -?nt?v
• Hyphenation: in?cen?tive

Noun

incentive (plural incentives)

1. Something that motivates, rouses, or encourages.

2. A bonus or reward, often monetary, to work harder.

Antonyms

• disincentive

Derived terms

• incentivise/incentivize, tax incentive

Translations

Adjective

incentive (comparative more incentive, superlative most incentive)

1. Inciting; encouraging or moving; rousing to action; stimulating.
   • 1667, Richard Allestree, The Causes of the Decay of Christian Piety

     Competency is of all other proportions the most incentive to industry.

2. Serving to kindle or set on fire.

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• Vicentine

Latin

Adjective

incent?ve

1. vocative masculine singular of incent?vus

Portuguese

Verb

incentive

1. first-person singular present subjunctive of incentivar
2. third-person singular present subjunctive of incentivar
3. first-person singular imperative of incentivar
4. third-person singular imperative of incentivar

Spanish

Verb

incentive

1. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of incentivar.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of incentivar.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of incentivar.