Com*pel" (?), v. t. [imp. &
p. p. Compelled (?); p. pr. & vb.
n Compelling.] [L. compellere,
compulsum, to drive together, to compel, urge; com-
+ pellere to drive: cf. OF. compellir. See
Pulse.] 1. To drive or urge with
force, or irresistibly; to force; to constrain; to oblige; to
necessitate, either by physical or moral force.
Wolsey . . . compelled the people to pay up
the whole subsidy at once.
Hallam.
And they compel one Simon . . . to bear his
cross.
Mark xv. 21.
2. To take by force or violence; to
seize; to exact; to extort. [R.]
Commissions, which compel from each
The sixth part of his substance.
Shak.
3. To force to yield; to overpower; to
subjugate.
Easy sleep their weary limbs compelled.
Dryden.
I compel all creatures to my will.
Tennyson.
4. To gather or unite in a crowd or
company. [A Latinism] "In one troop compelled."
Dryden.
5. To call forth; to summon. [Obs.]
Chapman.
She had this knight from far compelled.
Spenser.
Syn. -- To force; constrain; oblige; necessitate;
coerce. See Coerce.
Com*pel" (?), v. i. To make
one yield or submit. "If she can not entreat, I can
compel." Shak.