induce, v.
(ɪnˈdjuːs)
Forms: α. 4–8 enduce, 6 enduse. β. 5– induce, (6 induse, induice).
[ad. L. indūcĕre to lead into, to introduce, etc., f. in- (in-2) + dūcĕre to lead. In early use the prefix was commonly assimilated to that of OF. enduire (pres. subj. enduise): see endue. The L. verb developed a number of special senses, some of which are represented by obsolete uses in English.]
1. trans. To lead (a person), by persuasion or some influence or motive that acts upon the will, to († into, † unto) some action, condition, belief, etc.; to lead on, move, influence, prevail upon (any one) to do something. a. Of persons, personal action, influence, etc.
| α c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints, Egipciane 562 Al vthyr als, þat I mycht enduce to þat foly. Ibid., Baptista 773 Þe caynis bruthire..with cristine wes enducyt sa þat he baptysme can haly ta. 1494 Fabyan Chron. v. xcvii. 71 She lafte nat to enduce and tourne her Lord to the faith in all that she myght. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cclxxii. 408 He..sayd, he wolde go himselfe to Angolesme to the prince, and to the lordes that be ther, trustyng to..enduse them. 1533 More Answ. Poysoned Bk. Wks. 1044/2 To enduce theym the better to the beliefe of his great kindnes. 1633 T. Stafford Pac. Hib. ii. xxiii. (1810) 432 Willingly enduced for just respects, to disengage themselves. |
| β c 1440 Jacob's Well (E.E.T.S.) 199 Ful perylous it is to inducyn & steryn an-oþer to synne. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. vi. (1520) 67 b/1 He induced the noble men to swere that..they sholde chese Octavianus his sone pope. 1490 ― Eneydos xxiv. 90 She can not by no wyse induce herselfe to gyue a reste vnto her eyen by a lityll slepe. 1531 Elyot Gov. i. v, To induce them in-to a contention with their inferiour companions. 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utopia ii. ix. (1895) 272 If he coulde not by fayre and gentle speche induce them vnto his opinion. 1607 Shakes. Cor. i. ix. 16, I haue done as you haue done..Induc'd as you haue beene. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 159 Hee perswaded them for the space of a whole yeare..and at last induced them to leave their riches..and to follow him. 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. i. §3, I have the more willingly induced myself to this unequal task, out of the hope of contributing somewhat to that blessed end. 1679 Animadv. Sp. 5 Jesuits 20 That Prince..who induces his Subjects into Heresie. 1793 Burke Conduct Minority Wks. 1842 I. 620 To induce us to this, Mr. Fox laboured hard to make it appear [etc.]. 1839 Bailey Festus xvii. (1852) 223 Where is the spirit which induced me here? 1864 Lowell Fireside Trav. 266 To induce settlers upon territory of such uninhabitable quality. 1878 R. W. Dale Lect. Preach. ix. 279 You should try by gentle means to induce the people to make a change. |
b. Of things, circumstances, or considerations. (Also absol., without personal object expressed.)
| 1430–40 Lydg. Bochas vi. i. (1554) 145 b, People of Grece, of Rome and of Chartage..Were indused by swetenes of language To haue together their conversacion. 1513 More in Grafton Chron. (1568) II. 778 The thing that enduced him to be..one of the speciallest contrivers of all this horrible treason. c 1530 Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1866) 31 Let necessite induce the therto. 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 76 Many men were wonderfully enriched by your Canons: but very fewe enduced to have any especiall regarde to feare God by y⊇ knowledge of them. 1607 Rowlands Guy Warw. 74 There to be buried where he had been born, Was all the cause that did induce him back. 1654 Gataker Disc. Apol. 73, I make no doubt, but that manie Points and Practises in Poperie..induce millions unto Atheism. 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacr. iii. i. §1 If I have not a soul of an immortal nature, there can bee no sufficient..motive inducing to it [religion]. 1720 Waterland Eight Serm. 254 Where an Argument is drawn from the natural and necessary Perfections of God, to induce us to some faint resemblance and imitation of them. 1796 H. Hunter tr. St.-Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) II. 263 These considerations induce me to believe [etc.]. 1871 Yeats Techn. Hist. Comm. 427 The demands for food, clothing, fuel and shelter have induced men to labour. |
† c. ellipt. To lead to the belief or opinion (that); to persuade. Obs. rare.
| 1655 in Hartlib Ref. Commw. Bees 21 And that out of Kine, either strangled, or otherwise dying, and so lying abroad, exposed to the influence of the Heavens, Bees naturally will not spring, I am induced. |
2. a. To bring in, introduce (a practice, condition, state of things, custom, law, etc.). Const. into. Obs. or blended with 4.
| 1401 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 51 Ȝour daliaunce inducit ire and envie. 1432–50 tr. Higden (Rolls) I. 251 From the cite made unto clx. yere folowenge was movede noo diuorce. The firste man inducenge hit was callede Carbilius. 1485 Paston Lett. No. 883 III. 318 The seid Henry Tidder..entendith also..to enduce and establisse newe lawes and ordenaunces amongez the Kynggs seid subjetts. 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. V 65 b, He doubted not but by his onely meanes, peace should be induced. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie ii. xii[i.]. (Arb.) 127 By some leasurable trauell it were no hard matter to induce all their auncient feete into vse with vs. 1630 Wadsworth Pilgr. iii. 30 The first that induced this Order of Nunnes, was Father Gerard. a 1652 Brome Love sick Court v. iii, If you think it meet, I will induce The practise of it presently. 1802 Paley Nat. Theol. iv. (1819) 50 Occasional irregularities may subsist in a considerable degree, without inducing any doubt into the question. 1836 Sir W. Hamilton Discuss., Stud. Math. (1852) 269 To induce that numb rigidity into our intellectual life. |
† b. To introduce, insert (a material thing).
| c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. vi. 80 Into a potte of erthe enduce a floure Vppon his bough doun bounden ther to dwelle. |
† c. To introduce, bring in, present (a person).
| 1534 More Comf. agst. Trib. ii. Wks. 1196/2 S. James exhorteth men y{supt} they shall in their bodely sickenes induce the priestes. 1605 B. Jonson Masque Blackness Wks. (Rtldg.) 544/2 These [Oceanus and Niger] induced the masquers, which were twelve nymphs. a 1652 Brome Queen & Concubine i. iii, My last command, which was Never to see the court till I induc'd you. |
† d. To introduce or bring in as a character or speaker in a literary work. Obs.
| 1484 Caxton Fables of æsop Pref., Esope..induceth the byrdes, the trees and the beestes spekynge. 1534 Whitinton Tullyes Offices iii. (1540) 135 Tully..induceth two of Socrates secte of dyuers opinyons. 1558 Knox First Blast (Arb.) 24 In an other place he induceth God speaking to the woman in this sorte. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 250 The rest are all delivered as the wordes of God; hee being induced as speaker. a 1744 Pope (J.), The poet may be seen inducing his personages in the first Iliad. |
† e. To introduce, bring in, bring forward, by way of illustration or argument; to adduce, quote.
| 1433 Lydg. S. Fremund 70 Now purposyng..[to] Induce a story longyng to this mater. 1523 Skelton Garl. Laurel 94 Ovyde was bannisshed for his skill And many mo whome I cowde enduce. 1563–87 Foxe A. & M. (1684) II. 44/2 Long it were to induce here all Prophesies that be read in Histories. 1581 Satir. Poems Reform. xliii. 89 Sum auld exemples heir I man induce, To bring my purpose to more speciall. 1605 Verstegan Dec. Intell. i. (1628) 10 All which may enduce sufficient reasons to thinke him their first chiefe. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. iii. xxv. §3. 173 To exprobrate their Stupiditie, he induceth the providence of Storkes. Now if the bird had been unknown, the illustration had been obscure. |
† 3. a. To introduce or bring (a person) into the knowledge of something; to initiate, instruct. Obs.
| c 1477 Caxton Jason 70 b, The sage and wisemen shal enduce and teche the rude peple and harde of entendement. 1483 ― Gold. Leg. 333/2 He was..wel lerned and enduced in the sacrefyses and werkes of the temple. 1511–12 Act 3 Hen. VIII, c. 3 §1 Every man hauynge..men children..shall provyde..a bowe and ij shaftes to enduse and lern theym and bryng them uppe in shotyng. |
† b. To introduce to a subject or study; to initiate into; to habituate or accustom to. Obs.
| 1490 Caxton Eneydos xxi. 77, I requyre only that he putte this thyng in delaye, for a certayn Space of tyme, Duryng the whiche I may induce my self to sorow. 1534 More Treat. Passion Wks. 1330/1 Inducyng them into the communyon of the Sacramentes. 1556 Withals Dict. Prol., A thinge written by me to induce children to the latin tongue. 1561 J. Daus tr. Bullinger on Apoc. Pref. (1573) 1 The holy Ghost beyng sent to his Apostles, induced them into all truthe. |
4. a. To bring about, bring on, produce, cause, give rise to. Now widespread in technical contexts, freq. with a concrete or material obj. rather than an abstract one.
| 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) v. xiv. 107 Euery thyng that werketh naturelly..enduceth the fourme of it seluen. 1432–50 tr. Higden (Rolls) I. 73 That grauntede, that place scholde induce otherwhile the eclipse of the moone. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §164 If thou forgyue not the wronge done vnto the..thou enduces goddes curse to fall vpon y⊇. 1555 Eden Decades 267 The Scythian wyll accuse the Romane heauen as induceinge feuers. 1676 Hale Contempl. i. 334 There are two things that induce the loss of friends. 1710 Prideaux Orig. Tithes i. 7 This induceth a necessity of coming to a positive institution. 1780 Harris Philol. Enq. Wks. (1841) 462, I mean gentle walking without inducing fatigue. 1831 Brewster Optics xxviii. 241 The phenomena are related to the shape of the mass in which the change is induced. 1859 Lang Wand. India 355 Agricultural improvement would induce lasting and increasing prosperity of the cultivating classes. 1874 Carpenter Ment. Phys. i. i. §27 (1879) 27 Such automatic states..may be artificially induced. 1928 Biol. Abstr. II. 686/2 In the early gastrula stage the whole quadrant lying above the blastopore is capable of inducing formation of a new embryonic axis. 1931 J. Needham Chem. Embryol. I. 579 A piece of the brain of a free-swimming larva would still induce a medullary plate in the early embryo. 1941 Jrnl. Nat. Cancer Inst. (U.S.) II. 199/2 Whether carbon tetrachloride is the active agent in inducing hepatomas in mice or whether these tumors are merely the result of hepatic damage caused by carbon tetrachloride awaits further study. 1947 Growth XI. 228 Fifty-two compounds..were tested for their activity in inducing pectinase production. 1953 Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. XVIII. 101/2 The transition from the prophage to the vegetative state can therefore be induced with a probability of nearly 1. 1968 Ann. Rev. Nuclear Sci. XVIII. 343 (heading) Compound nuclear reactions induced by heavy ions. 1969 Times 9 June 2/1 How then do D.N.A. viruses induce interferon in the cell? 1971 tr. S.E. Bresler's Introd. Molecular Biol. v. 487 The existence of compounds that repress and induce the formation of enzymes provides direct evidence that regulatory mechanisms are present. 1973 Nature 12 Jan. 132/1 Bachem..induced cataracts in guinea-pigs and rabbits with ultraviolet light. 1973 Ibid. 9 Feb. 367/1 Whereas 224Ra with a short 3·8 day half life induces in man chiefly osteosarcomas, 226Ra with a half life of 1,620 years induces both osteo and fibrosarcomas. |
b. spec. To produce (an electric current or magnetic state) by induction: see induction 10.
| 1777 T. Cavallo Compl. Treat. Electr. iv. iv. 384 The action of these plates depends upon a principle long ago discovered, viz. the power that an excited electric has to induce a contrary Electricity in a body brought within its sphere of action. 1812 [see induced ppl. a. 1 a]. 1832 [see induction 10]. 1839 G. Bird Nat. Philos. 266 A current traversing a wire induces a secondary one in a wire parallel to it. 1855 H. M. Noad Man. Electr. I. 44 The electricity of e induces a change in the electric state of dc. 1892 S. P. Thompson Dynamo-Elect. Mach. (ed. 4) 30 To induce currents in a conductor, there must be a relative motion between conductor and magnet, of such a kind as to alter the number of lines of force embraced in the circuit. |
c. To bring on as a state or condition. Const. upon.
| 1857–8 Sears Athan. xi. 97 This dim and sleepy life is induced upon us that we may not know at the beginning all that we are. 1863 E. V. Neale Anal. Th. & Nat. 65 We induce upon the new individual the result of our observation of past individuals. |
d. To initiate (labour) artificially. Cf. induction 9.
| 1852 Lancet 2 Oct. 297/2 Under these circumstances, a new method of inducing premature labour..cannot fail of being recognised by obstetricians as a great boon. 1916 G. P. Shears Obstetrics xxvi. 573 Manual dilatation is not in itself a method of inducing labor, but it is sometimes most valuable in accelerating the progress of labor. 1968 D. C. Bethea Introd. Maternity Nursing ix. 121 The mother who is to have labor induced may feel uneasy... She is likely to want to know if her labor will be longer, harder, or more painful because it is induced. |
e. Biol. To cause (a bacterium containing a prophage) to begin the lytic cycle.
Quots. 1950, 1951 illustrate the origin of this use in sense 4 a (induce = produce, cause).
| [1950 A. Lwoff et al. in Ann. de l'Inst. Pasteur LXXIX. 833 Nous avons induit la lyse de la totalité des bactéries d'une culture de B. megatherium. 1951 Jrnl. Bacteriol. LXII. 317 Maturation from prophage into phage can be induced in every bacterium of a culture of K12 by irradiation with small doses of ultraviolet rays (Lwoff effect).] 1953 Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. XVIII. 104/1 In order to be induced to the same extent, cultures of B. megatherium in minimal medium require a dose of ultraviolet light 20 times greater than cultures in yeast extract. 1959 Jacob & Wollman in Burnet & Stanley Viruses II. ix. 332 When..inducible lysogenic bacteria are first induced and then infected with an adequate multiplicity of a mutant of the homologous phage, each bacterium releases particles of the prophage as well as of the mutant type. 1962 Nature 24 Nov. 783/2 Certain antitumour agents are capable of inducing lysogenic bacteria. 1970 Jrnl. Virol. V. 240/2 When an intermediate amount of mitomycin C (1 µg/ml) was also used to induce the culture in addition to thymine deprivation, the production of PBLB was almost doubled. |
† 5. To lead to (something) as a conclusion or inference; to lead one to infer; to suggest, imply. Obs.
| 1481 Caxton Tulle on Old Age A v (R. Suppl.), Notable examples to induce the soul to be perpetuel and most lyght and parfyght. 1581 Savile Tacitus, Agricola (1622) 188 The coloured countenances of the Silures..seeme to induce, that the old Spaniards passed the Sea and possessed those places. 1601 R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 58 Which are reasons sufficient to induce, that in his gulfe..he hath small means to rig out any. ? a 1624 Swinburne Spousals (1686) 72 The sixth Limitation is, When as by common use of Speech the words induce Matrimony. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. iv. x. 201 That an unsavoury odour is gentilitious or nationall unto the Jews,..we cannot well concede, nor will the information of reason or sense induce it. |
6. To infer; esp. in recent use, to infer by reasoning from particular facts to general principles; to derive as an induction.
| 1563 W. Fulke Meteors ii. (1655) 34 If it were lawfull to reason of this sort we might enduce them to betoken not only these few things, but all other things that chance in the world. 1583 Fulke Defence xii. (Parker Soc.) 424 He hath already given you a sufficient reason to induce, that the apostle speaketh not of faith as generally as of knowledge. 1667 Decay Chr. Piety viii. ¶41 'Twould be hard to discern, how from different premisses the same conclusion should be induced. 1855 Miss Cobbe Intuit. Mor. 45 note, We obtain a multitude of contingent truths..and from these we induce the general proposition. 1888 Science Dec. 304 From a sufficient number of results a proposition or law is induced. |
† 7. To draw (something) on or over; to put on or overspread as a covering or the like. Const. on, upon, over. Obs.
| 1567 Drant Horace, Ep. xvi. E viij, Beduske my fraude withe cloudes, my sinnes, Induce on theym a night. 1588 J. Read Compend. Method 69 Dura mater, which had begun..to induce flesh, had induced so beyond all measure [etc.]. 1667 Milton P.L. vi. 408 Now Night her course began, and over Heav'n Inducing darkness, grateful truce impos'd. 1708 J. Philips Cyder i. (R.), There are, who, fondly studious of increase, Rich foreign mould on their ill-natur'd land Induce laborious. 1784 Cowper Task i. 32 And o'er the seat, with plenteous wadding stuff'd, Induc'd a splendid cover. |