"E" Word Origins

enormously

Origin

From enormous + -ly.

Enos

Hebrew

From Hebrew אֱנוֹשׁ (enósh, “mortal man”).

enough

Old English

From Old English genōg, meaning "sufficient," tracing back to a very old Germanic root shared with Dutch genoeg and German genug.

enounce

Origin

From French énoncer, from Latin ēnuntiō. Doublet of enunciate.

enquire

French

From Old French enquerre, from Latin inquirere "to seek into", from in- and quaerere "to seek".

enrage

Origin

From Old French enrager, enragier, from rage. Equivalent to en- + rage.

enraged

Middle English

From "enrage" (en- + "rage"), formed in Middle English by adding the verb-forming prefix en- to the noun rage.

enrich

Old French

From Old French enrichir, built from en- ("to make") plus riche ("rich").

enrichment

Origin

From "enrich" plus the noun-forming suffix -ment.

Enrico

Italian

Borrowed from Italian Enrico.

Enright

Irish

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Mac Ionnrachtaigh (“son of Ionnrachtach”), a byname meaning "attacker"; compare Hanratty.

enroll

Anglo-Norman

From Anglo-Norman enroller, built from en- ("into") plus roll — literally "to put into a roll," since names were once recorded on a rolled parchment list.

enrollment

French

From enroll plus the noun-forming suffix -ment, following the same French-derived pattern as words like "development" or "employment."

Enron

Origin · 2001

From Enron Corporation, the American energy company whose 2001 collapse over accounting fraud became a byword for corporate scandal.

ensemble

French

Borrowed from French ensemble, meaning "together."

ensign

Latin

From Old French enseigne, from Latin insignia, meaning a mark or distinguishing sign. A doublet of "insignia."

enslave

Origin

From en- ("to make") plus "slave."

enslavement

Origin

From "enslave" plus the noun-forming suffix -ment.

ensorcell

Origin

From Old French ensorceler (“to cast a spell, enchant; to captivate”), a variant of ensorcerer, from en- (prefix meaning ‘caused’) + sorcier (“sorcerer”) (ultimately from Latin sors (“fate, lot; oracular response”), from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to bind”)).

enspell

Origin

From en- + spell.

ensphere

Origin

From en- + sphere.

ensue

Latin

From Old French ensuivre, ultimately from Latin insequi, "to follow after."

ensuingly

Origin

From ensuing + -ly.

ensure

Old French

From Anglo-Norman enseurer, from Old French seur ("sure"). A doublet of "insure."

ensuring

French

From ensure, from Anglo-Norman enseurer, ultimately related to Latin securus "safe, secure".

ent

Old English

Tolkien borrowed the word from Old English ent, meaning "giant," reviving a term that had otherwise died out of the language by modern times.

entail

Old French

From Old French entailler, "to cut into," from en- + tailler ("to cut"). The legal sense comes from the idea of an inheritance being "cut" or fixed to a set line of heirs.

entails

Anglo-Norman

From Anglo-Norman legal French 'entailler', to cut into a particular shape or restrict, from 'en-' plus 'taille' (a cut, a limitation). The general sense 'to involve as a consequence' developed from the legal one.

entangle

Origin

From Middle English entanglen (“to involve [someone] in difficulty”, “to embarrass”). Equivalent to en- + tangle.

entanglement

English

From the verb 'entangle', formed from 'en-' (to put into) plus 'tangle', with the noun suffix '-ment'.

entente

Origin

Unadapted borrowing from French entente (“understanding”). Doublet of intent.

enter

Latin

From Old French entrer, from Latin intrare ("to go in"). British English keeps the French-style "-re" ending in related words like "centre" and "theatre," while American English uses "enter"-style "-er" spellings for those.

enteral

Origin

From Ancient Greek ἔντερον (énteron, “intestine”), + -al.

entered

Old French

From Old French 'entrer', from Latin 'intrare' (to go in), from 'intra' (within).

enteric

Origin

From Ancient Greek ἐντερικός (enterikós, “intestinal”). By surface analysis, entero- + -ic.

enterprise

Old French

From Old French entreprise, "something undertaken," from entreprendre, "to undertake."

entertain

Old French

From Old French entretenir, from entre ("among") + tenir ("to hold"), originally meaning to maintain or keep someone engaged.

entertainer

Origin

From "entertain" plus the agent-forming suffix -er.

entertaining

Origin

From entertain + -ing.

entertainment

Old French

From Middle English entretenement, from Old French entretenement, "support, maintenance"; related to "entertain."

enthalpy

Greek

From Greek enthalpein "to warm in", from en- "in" and thalpein "to heat".

enthrill

Origin

From en- + thrill.

enthrone

Origin

From en- + throne; compare earlier enthronize, inthronize.

enthroned

Origin

From enthrone + -ed.

enthusiasm

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek enthousiasmos, based on en- ("in") + theos ("god"), originally meaning divine inspiration or possession by a god.

enthusiast

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek enthousiastes, related to "enthusiasm."

enthusiastic

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek enthousiastikos, related to "enthusiasm."

enthymeme

Origin

From Ancient Greek ἐνθύμημα (enthúmēma, “thought, consideration”), from ἐν (en, “within, with”) + θυμός (thumós, “soul, life”).