definitions

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