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 for

, Biology, Ecology.

1. endangered ( def 3 ).

-en

¹

suffix forming verbs

1. cause to be; become; cause to have

   heighten

   blacken

en-

²

prefix forming verbs and verbal derivatives

1. in; into; inside

   endemic

-en

³

suffix forming adjectives

1. of; made of; resembling

   wooden

   ashen

   earthen

EN

⁴

abbreviation for

1. enrolled nurse
2. English Nature

en-

⁵

prefix forming verbs and verbal derivatives

1. from nouns
   1. put in or on

      enthrone

      entomb

   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

   enrich

   enslave

   encourage

en

⁶

/ ɛn /

noun

1. printing a unit of measurement, half the width of an em Also callednut 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

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

Example Sentences

Ash regained his focus, though, and won, en route to becoming ESPN’s 2019 esports player of the year.

From Ozy

As residents cranked up air conditioning en masse to keep cool, the state’s primary grid operator ordered a series of rolling blackouts that have left millions without power in recent days, at least briefly.

From MIT Technology Review

The Canes then swept the New York Islanders en route to an unlikely Eastern Conference finals berth, and if they hadn’t run into a hot Boston Bruins team, they might have reached their third Stanley Cup Final.

From FiveThirtyEight

The launch is the third this month of spacecraft en route to the Red Planet.

From Science News

Growers and distributors in Imperial County and other parts of Southern California often have to go through Border Patrol checkpoints en route to testing facilities or to bring them to markets farther west.

From Voice of San Diego

Did the airline file a flight plan that took account of the weather en route from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore?

From The Daily Beast

“Tu eres como chuleria en pote,” goes the Puerto Rican expression that gave rise to his moniker.

From The Daily Beast

Two hostages died en route to the hospital, while police said they killed gunman Man Haron Monis.

From The Daily Beast

One hostage died en route, the Journal reported, while the other died on the operating table.

From The Daily Beast

They pulled up in unmarked cars and on motorcycles, appearing en masse out of the darkness.

From The Daily Beast

He was living quite en garçon, with only one man, his house having been let for the season.

From Project Gutenberg

Their Chateau en Espagne seemed invisible, as such chateaux usually are; and where it might be found, who was there to tell?

From Project Gutenberg

True; but as we are far enough now from that point, we must e'en make the best of the bad.

From Project Gutenberg

Il avoit sa belle robe soubs soy (car c'estoit en est), et se preparoit sa harangue funebre.

From Project Gutenberg

La harangue devoit finir en l'adieu et comploration commune de tous.

From Project Gutenberg