Etymology

encumber

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Today it means: To load down something with a burden. Full definition →

Middle English encombren ← Old French encombrer
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The story

  1. Old French · derived fromencombrer
  2. Middle English · inherited fromencombren
  3. English todayencumber

From Middle English encombren, from Old French encombrer, from en- + combrer (“to hinder”) (See cumber). By surface analysis, en- + cumber.

Words from the same roots

Old Frenchencombrer all →

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.