Etymology

endear

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Today it means: To make (something) more precious or valuable. Full definition →

First used 16th–17th c.English dear ← Middle English en- ← Old French en-
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
  2. Proto-Italic*en
  3. Proto-Italic*en-
  4. Latinin-
  5. Old Frenchen-
  6. Middle Englishen-
  7. Englishen-
  8. Englishdear
  9. English todayendear

From en- + dear.

First known use, by meaning

  • 16th–17th c. To make (something) more precious or valuable.
  • 17th–19th c. To make (something) more expensive; to increase the cost of.
  • 17th c. To stress (something) as important; to exaggerate.
  • from 18th c. To make (someone) dear or precious.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.