en-

¹

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

1. a suffix formerly used to form transitive and intransitive verbs from adjectives (fasten; harden; sweeten ), or from nouns (heighten; lengthen; strengthen ).

en-

³

1. a prefix meaning “within, in,” occurring in loanwords from Greek.

   energy; enthusiasm.

-en

⁴

1. a suffix used to form adjectives of source or material from nouns.

   ashen; golden; oaken.

-en

⁵

1. a suffix used to mark the past participle in many strong and some weak verbs.

   taken; proven.

-en

⁶

1. a suffix used in forming the plural of some nouns.

   brethren; children; oxen.

-en

⁷

1. a diminutive suffix.

   kitten; maiden.

en

⁸

[en]

noun

1. the letter N, n.

2. Also called nut. Printing.,  half of the width of an em.

adjective

1. Printing.,  having the area of an en quad or the length of an en.

   en quad; en dash.

EN

⁹

abbreviation

Biology, Ecology.

1. endangered.

en-

¹

prefix

1. (from nouns)

   1. put in or on

      entomb

      enthrone

   2. go on or into

      enplane

   3. surround or cover with

      enmesh

   4. furnish with

      empower

2. (from adjectives and nouns) cause to be in a certain condition

   enable

   encourage

   enrich

   enslave

EN

²

abbreviation

1. enrolled nurse

2. English Nature

-en

³

suffix

1. cause to be; become; cause to have

   blacken

   heighten

-en

⁴

suffix

1. of; made of; resembling

   ashen

   earthen

   wooden

en-

⁵

prefix

1. in; into; inside

   endemic

en

⁶

/ ɛn /

noun

1. Also called: nut. printing a unit of measurement, half the width of an em See also ennage

Word History and Origins

Origin of en-¹

Middle English < Old French < Latin in- in- ²

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-³

From Greek (often through Latin ); cognate with in- ¹, in- ²

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-⁷

Middle English, Old English, from neuter of -en ²

Origin of en-⁸

First recorded in 1785–95

Word History and Origins

Origin of en-¹

via Old French from Latin in- _in- ²

Origin of en-²

Old English -n-, as in fæst-n-ian to fasten, of common Germanic origin; compare Icelandic fastna

Origin of en-³

Old English -en; related to Gothic -eins, Latin -īnus _-ine ¹

Origin of en-⁴

from Greek (often via Latin); compare _in- ¹ , _in- ²

Example Sentences

She reached the the final of the Montreal Open last month, losing to teenager Victoria Mboko, and has now followed that with a deep run at Flushing Meadows, beating the third, 11th and 15th-seeded players en route to the last four.

From BBC

Marymount was off to its hottest start since 2021 when it finished 35-0 en route to its 10th section title and seventh state crown under Klein and the No. 1 national ranking.

From Los Angeles Times

Three people have been killed and 103 others injured due to a train derailing while en route to the Egyptian capital Cairo, the country's health ministry has said.

From BBC

In Los Angeles, the Dodgers suffered a lackluster 3-0 loss to the underperforming Arizona Diamondbacks, managing just three hits and getting only one runner in scoring position en route to suffering their seventh shutout this season.

From Los Angeles Times

"When we play Freed From Desire in Holland, the Dutch will say, 'trek je shirt uit en zwaai', which loosely translates to 'take your shirt off and wave', and F1 will say, 'well, don't do that'. But if I play it, all that the Dutch fans hear is, 'get your shirt off and wave it like a helicopter!'"

From BBC