Meanings
alternative em- · alternative el-
- Forms a transitive verb whose meaning is to make the attached adjective
- covered by
enclothe, embalm, enseam
- to become
enslave, embetter, engloom
- provide with
empower
- an intensifier
entangle, enwisen, enhance
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Frankish*an-
- Proto-Indo-European*en“in, into”
- Proto-Germanic*in“in”
- Old Englishin-“in, into”
- Middle Englishin-
- Frankish*in-
- Latinin-“in, into”
- Old Frenchen-
- Middle Englishen-“en-, in-”
- Englishen-
From Middle English en- (“en-, in-”). Originally from Old French en- (also an-), from Latin in- (“in, into”) and Frankish *in-, *int-, *anda-; but also from an alteration of in-, from Middle English in-, from Old English in- (“in, into”), from Proto-Germanic *in (“in”). Both the Latin and the Germanic forms are from Proto-Indo-European *en (“in, into”). Intensive use of Old French en-, an- is due to confluence with Frankish *an- and *in- (intensive prefixes), related to Old English on- and in- (intensive prefixes). More at in-, on-.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
en-. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/en-
“en-.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/en-. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “en-,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/en-.
Source: en- on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.