Convel

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. An obsolete verb meaning to pull or draw something violently together until it is shaken or convulsed
2. Archaic term for forcibly drawing parts of the body or an object together in a violent spasm
3. To agitate or wrench something by pulling it hard, causing it to contract or jerk in a convulsion

Etymology: "Convel" is an uncommon English word, borrowed from Latin "convellere," a compound of "com-" (together, thoroughly) and "vellere" (to pull or tear). The original sense is physical and violent: to pluck up or tear apart by force. That root is the same one behind "revulsion," where something is pulled away from you, and "avulse," meaning to tear something off. "Convel" is a doublet of "convulse." The two entered English from the same Latin verb but along different paths, so they ended up as near-twins with separate meanings. "Convulse" took on the sense of violent shaking, particularly of the body or of a nation in turmoil, while "convel" stayed closer to the original idea of wrenching something loose. The pair is a neat illustration of how one Latin verb can split into two English words that share a skeleton but not a personality.