ensheathe

E1N1S1H4E1A1T1H4E1
/ɪnˈʃiːð/

verb

To cover with or as if with a sheath.

OriginEnglish sheathe ← Middle English en- ← Old French en- →
Scrabble 15
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Meanings

verbensheathe (third-person singular simple present ensheathes, present participle ensheathing, simple past and past participle ensheathed)

present singular third person ensheathes · participle present ensheathing · participle past ensheathed · past ensheathed · alternative archaic insheath · alternative archaic insheathe

  1. transitiveTo cover with or as if with a sheath.

    Each filament of combustible pulp is ensheathed in an isolating tube, and these tubes are then bound into cable-like trunks.

    1858, Edward Hughes, Reading Lessons

Origin

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

From en- + sheathe.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with ensheathe

breatheunderneathwreathsheathmeathPontypriddbequeathseethebeathinwreatherethesheatheteetheunsheathewreathe
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

ensheathe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ensheathe

MLA

“ensheathe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ensheathe. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ensheathe,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ensheathe.

Source: ensheathe on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.