"E" Word Origins

entice

Latin

From Old French enticier, "to stir up or excite," ultimately traced to a Latin root meaning "to set on fire."

enticement

Origin

From Old French enticement.

entire

Latin

From Old French entier, from Latin integer, meaning "whole" or "untouched." A doublet of "integer."

entirely

Origin

From "entire" plus the adverb-forming suffix -ly.

entirety

Middle English

From Middle English enterete, from Old French entiereté, from Latin integritās, from integer (“complete, whole”). Doublet of integrity.

entitle

Origin

From Anglo-Norman entitler, from Old French entiteler, (French intituler), from Late Latin intitulāre.

entitlement

Origin

Built from "entitle" plus the suffix "-ment," which turns a verb into a noun describing the state or result of that action.

entity

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin entitas, built from Latin ens ("a being") plus the suffix "-tas."

entomb

Origin

From Old French entomber (“deposit in a tomb”). Equivalent to en- + tomb.

entomologist

Greek

From "entomology" (the study of insects, from Greek entomon, "insect") plus the suffix "-ist," meaning "one who practices."

entonox

Origin

Brand name.

entourage

French

Borrowed directly from French entourage, from entourer, "to surround."

entrails

Latin

From Old French entrailles, ultimately from Latin interanea, "internal parts," related to inter, "within."

entrance

Middle French

The noun comes from Middle French entrance ("entry"). The unrelated-looking verb sense is actually "en-" + "trance," meaning to put someone into a trance-like state of wonder.

entranced

Origin

From entrance + -ed.

entranceway

Origin

From entrance + way.

entrant

Origin

From French entrant, present participle of entrer.

entrap

Old French

From Old French entraper, built from "en-" plus "trap."

entrapment

Origin

From "entrap" plus the suffix "-ment," forming a noun describing the act or result.

entreat

Latin

From Old French entraitier, built from "en-" plus traitier, "to treat, deal with," from Latin tractare.

entreaty

Origin

From entreat + -y.

entrench

Origin

From en- + trench. First attested in the 1550s.

entrepreneur

French

Borrowed from French entrepreneur, from entreprendre, "to undertake."

entrepreneurship

French

From French entrepreneur, literally 'one who undertakes', from entreprendre 'to undertake', plus the English suffix -ship denoting a state or activity.

entresol

Origin

From French entresol.

entropy

Greek · 1865

Coined in 1865 by physicist Rudolf Clausius from Greek en- ("in") and trope ("transformation"), modeled on the word "energy."

entrust

Origin

Formed from "en-" plus "trust."

entry

Latin

From Old French entree, the feminine past participle of entrer, "to enter," ultimately from Latin intrare.

entryway

Origin

From entry + way.

enturbulate

Origin

Coined by L. Ron Hubbard, probably from the prefix en- plus turbulent or disturbed, to describe a state of mind within.

enumerate

Latin

From Latin enumerare "to count out", from e- "out" and numerare "to count", from numerus "number".

enumeration

Origin

From Middle French énumeration (French énumération). By surface analysis, enumerate + -ion.

enunciate

Origin

From Latin ēnuntiātus, past participle of ēnuntiō (“to report, declare”), from ē- + nūntiō (“to report”). Doublet of enounce.

enunciation

Latin

From Latin enuntiare 'to announce, speak out', from e- 'out' and nuntiare 'to report'.

envelop

Origin

From Middle English envolupen, from Old French anveloper, envoluper (modern French envelopper), from en- + voloper, vloper (“to wrap, wrap up”) (compare Italian -viluppare; Old Italian alternative form goluppare (“to wrap”)) from Vulgar Latin *vuloppare (“to wrap”), from Proto-Germanic *wlappaną, *wrappaną (“to wrap, roll up, turn, wind”), from Proto-Indo-European *werb- (“to turn, bend”) http://www.wordnik.com/words/envelop. Akin to Middle English wlappen (“to wrap, fold”) (Modern English lap (“to wrap, involve, fold”)), Middle English wrappen (“to wrap”), Middle Dutch lappen (“to wrap up, embrace”), Danish dialectal vravle (“to wind, twist”), Middle Low German wrempen (“to wrinkle, distort”), Old English wearp (“warp”). Doublet of enwrap.

envelope

French

From French enveloppe. The "safe operating limits" sense grew out of the aviation phrase "flight envelope."

envenom

Origin

From Middle English envenymen, from Old French envenimer (“to poison, taint”); equivalent to en- + venom.

enviable

Origin

From "envy" plus the suffix "-able," meaning "capable of causing" it.

envious

Latin

From Old French envieus, from Latin invidiosus, related to "envy."

environ

Origin

From Middle English enviroun (“round about in a circle or ring; all around”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman enviroun, environ [and other forms], and Middle French enviroun, environ [and other forms], from Old French environ (“around, surrounding; about, approximately, roughly”) (modern French environ), from en- (prefix meaning ‘in; into’) + viron (“circuit; circumference, compass; country round about”) (though first attested later) (from virer (“to bear, turn, veer”) (either from Latin gȳrō (“to turn in a circle, rotate; to circle, revolve around”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gew- (“to bend, curve; an arch, vault”)), or from Latin vibrō (“to hurl, launch; shake; to tremble, vibrate”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyb-, *weyp- (“to shake; to tremble; to sway, swing; to rotate, turn, wind, wrap (around)”))) + -on (augmentative suffix)). Cognates * Catalan enviró, environ (both obsolete) * Occitan environ * Spanish environ (obsolete)

environment

Middle French

From Middle French environnement, related to environ, "around, about."

envisage

Origin

From French envisager, from en (“in”) + visage (“visage”); equivalent to en- + visage.

envisaged

French

From French envisager, from en- ('in') plus visage ('face'), originally meaning to look in the face of something.

envision

Latin

From "en-" plus "vision," from Latin visionem, "a thing seen."

envoy

French

From French envoyé, the past participle of envoyer ('to send'), from Vulgar Latin inviare ('to send on the way'), from in- plus via ('way').

envy

Latin

From Old French envie, from Latin invidia, itself from invidere, "to look at with ill will" (in-, "upon" + videre, "to see").

enwrap

Origin

From Middle English enwrappen, inwrappen (“to wrap in”), equivalent to en- + wrap. Compare also Middle English inwlappen (See lap, “to enwrap”). More at en-, wrap. Cognate via Old French with envelop, envelope. Doublet of envelop.

Enzo

Italian

Borrowed from Italian Enzo (equivalent to English Hank), from German Heinz, a diminutive of Heinrich (English Henry), from Old High German Heimrih, Haimirich (heim (“home”) + rihhi (“ruler”)), from Proto-Germanic *Haimarīks, from Proto-Indo-European roots. Rare in the US and UK prior to 2003, popularized in the 2000s.