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enceinte

1
[ en-seynt, ahn-sant; French ahn-sant ]
/ ɛnˈseɪnt, ɑnˈsænt; French ɑ̃ˈsɛ̃t /
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adjective

pregnant; with child.

RELATED WORDS

expecting, fortification, gestate

Nearby words

encase, encasement, encash, encastré, encaustic, enceinte, enceladus, encephal-, encephalalgia, encephalasthenia, encephalatrophy

Origin of enceinte

1
1590–1600; < Middle French < Late Latin incincta, perhaps literally “ungirded,” equivalent to Latin in- in-3 + cincta, feminine of cinctus, past participle of cingere to belt, gird, surround

Definition for enceinte (2 of 2)

enceinte

2
[ en-seynt, ahn-sant; French ahn-sant ]
/ ɛnˈseɪnt, ɑnˈsænt; French ɑ̃ˈsɛ̃t /

noun, plural en·ceintes [en-seynts, en-sants; French ahn-sant] /ɛnˈseɪnts, ɛnˈsænts; French ɑ̃ˈsɛ̃t/.

a wall or enclosure, as of a fortified place.
the place enclosed.

Origin of enceinte

2
1700–10; < French: enclosure, also girding fence or rampart < Latin incincta, noun use of feminine of incinctus girded in (past participle of incingere), equivalent to in- in-2 + cing- gird + -tus past participle suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for enceinte

British Dictionary definitions for enceinte (1 of 2)

enceinte

1
/ (ɒnˈsænt, French ɑ̃sɛ̃t) /

adjective

another word for pregnant

Word Origin for enceinte

C17: from French, from Latin inciēns pregnant; related to Greek enkuos, from kuein to be pregnant

British Dictionary definitions for enceinte (2 of 2)

enceinte

2
/ (ɒnˈsænt, French ɑ̃sɛ̃t) /

noun

a boundary wall enclosing a defended area
the area enclosed

Word Origin for enceinte

C18: from French: enclosure, from enceindre to encompass, from Latin incingere, from cingere to gird
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for enceinte

enceinte

adj.

c.1600, insente, from French enceinte "pregnant" (12c.), from Late Latin incincta (source of Italian incinta), usually explained as "ungirt," from Latin in-, privative prefix (see in- (1)), + cincta, fem. of cinctus, past participle of cingere "to gird" (see cinch). Modern form is 18c., perhaps a reborrowing from French.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper