commit
Meaning
To do something illegal or morally wrong.
To promise or give your loyalty, time, or money to a particular principle, person, or plan of action.
To send someone to a prison or hospital.
Structure
Usage
He was arrested for committing a serious crime.
The government has committed substantial funds to the project.
The court decided to commit the defendant to a psychiatric institution.
Etymology
The word "commit" originates from the Latin verb committere, a compound of com- (meaning "together" or "with") and mittere (meaning "to send, let go, or put"). Literally, it meant "to bring together, join, or entrust." This core idea of entrusting something to someone or something else evolved into the modern senses. The meaning of "perpetrating a wrong" developed from the notion of entrusting oneself to a dangerous or questionable course of action. The legal sense of "sending" someone to prison is a direct, albeit specialized, retention of the original "send" meaning.
Analysis
com: Latin origin, a prefix meaning "together, with, thoroughly." It functions as an intensifier in this word. mit: Latin origin, from the root mittere meaning "to send, let go." It functions as the core verb root.