enceinte

[en-seynt, ahn-sant; French ahn-sant]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR enceinte ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

pregnant; with child.

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Origin of enceinte

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

enceinte

[en-seynt, ahn-sant; French ahn-sant]

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

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

The buildings contained in the enceinte are low, with narrow windows, in which parchment is substituted for glass.
The Prairie Flower|Gustave Aimard
During the afternoon the Government had decided to move to Antwerp and take refuge in the enceinte.
A Journal From Our Legation in Belgium|Hugh Gibson
Outside the enceinte populous suburbs surround the city on every side.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 16, Slice 6|Various
His eldest brother's wife was then enceinte, and I was born soon afterwards.
Story of My Life, volumes 1-3|Augustus J. C. Hare

The town has a citadel built by Vauban on a rock beside the river, and embracing in its enceinte ruins of an old Gothic chteau.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 1|Various

British Dictionary definitions for enceinte

enceinte

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

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.