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en-
1- a prefix occurring originally in loanwords from French and productive in English on this model, forming verbs with the general sense “to cause (a person or thing) to be in” the place, condition, or state named by the stem; more specifically, “to confine in or place on” ( enshrine; enthrone; entomb ); “to cause to be in” ( enslave; entrust; enrich; encourage; endear ); “to restrict” in the manner named by the stem, typically with the additional sense “on all sides, completely” ( enwind; encircle; enclose; entwine ). This prefix is also attached to verbs in order to make them transitive, or to give them a transitive marker if they are already transitive ( enkindle; enliven; enshield; enface ).
-en
2- a suffix formerly used to form transitive and intransitive verbs from adjectives ( fasten; harden; sweeten ), or from nouns ( heighten; lengthen; strengthen ).
en-
3- a prefix meaning “within, in,” occurring in loanwords from Greek:
energy; enthusiasm.
-en
4- a suffix used to form adjectives of source or material from nouns:
ashen; golden; oaken.
-en
5- a suffix used to mark the past participle in many strong and some weak verbs:
taken; proven.
-en
6- a suffix used in forming the plural of some nouns:
brethren; children; oxen.
-en
7- a diminutive suffix:
kitten; maiden.
en
8[ en ]
EN
9abbreviation for
, Biology, Ecology.
-en
1suffix forming verbs
- cause to be; become; cause to have
heighten
blacken
en-
2prefix forming verbs and verbal derivatives
- in; into; inside
endemic
-en
3suffix forming adjectives
- of; made of; resembling
wooden
ashen
earthen
EN
4abbreviation for
- enrolled nurse
- English Nature
en-
5prefix forming verbs and verbal derivatives
- from nouns
- put in or on
enthrone
entomb
- go on or into
enplane
- surround or cover with
enmesh
- furnish with
empower
- from adjectives and nouns cause to be in a certain condition
enable
enrich
enslave
encourage
en
6/ ɛn /
noun
- printing a unit of measurement, half the width of an em Also callednut See also ennage
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Word History and Origins
Origin of en-2
Middle English, Old English -n- (as in Middle English fastnen, Old English fǣstnian “to make fast, fasten”); cognate with -n- of like verbs in other Germanic languages ( Old Norse fastna )
Origin of en-4
Middle English, Old English; cognate with Old High German -īn, Gothic -eins, Latin -īnus; -ine 1
Origin of en-5
Middle English, Old English; cognate with German -en, Old Norse -inn
Origin of en-6
Middle English; Old English -an, case ending of n-stem nouns, as in naman oblique singular, and nominative and accusative plural of nama “name”; akin to n-stem forms in other Indo-European languages, as in Latin nōmen, nōmin- “name”
Origin of en-8
First recorded in 1785–95
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Word History and Origins
Origin of en-1
Old English -n-, as in fæst-n-ian to fasten, of common Germanic origin; compare Icelandic fastna
Origin of en-2
from Greek (often via Latin); compare in- 1, in- ²
Origin of en-3
Old English -en; related to Gothic -eins, Latin -īnus -ine 1
Origin of en-4
via Old French from Latin in- in- ²
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