indulge

Picture indulgēre as a Roman gesture of graceful surrender: not defeat, exactly, but yielding to someone’s wishes or allowing a desire its way. English first used indulge in the 1630s, apparently shortening it back from indulgence, as though the noun had been carrying a verb inside it all along. The religious sense made the family famous: in Catholic teaching, an indulgence reduces punishment for sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, a concept that became explosive around 1517 during the Reformation. That history gives indulge an unexpectedly serious relative, while its everyday descendants—indulgent and indulgence—now sit comfortably beside chocolate cake, shopping sprees, and permissive parents. Remember the central image: to indulge is to loosen the reins and let a desire, or another person, have its way.