enceinte
1 Americanadjective
noun
-
enceintes
plural
-
a wall or enclosure, as of a fortified place.
-
the place enclosed.
noun
-
a boundary wall enclosing a defended area
-
the area enclosed
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of enceinte1
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
Origin of enceinte2
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Its remains include an identifying tell mound, at the northern end of the site, a polygonal inner wall circuit, and a large outer defensive wall, or enceinte.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 19, 2024
And when Annette Bening appeared at the Academy Awards in 2000, gloriously enceinte in a dark gown, it sparked “a revolution,” Ms. Fuller said.
From New York Times ● May 15, 2013
For the girls who are enceinte, that "sack" will be O.K., and the rest of us will just cinch in the side seams and add a swishy cummerbund.
From Time Magazine Archive
Middle-class women no longer got pregnant, for example; they became enceinte, or were "in an interesting condition."
From Time Magazine Archive
No other Anglo-French keep in Ireland had such an extensive enceinte.
From Beauties and Antiquities of Ireland by T. O. Russell
The same leading idea is seen in most of these forts as in the new enceintes; i.e. a lunette, with a casemated keep at the gorge.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6 "Foraminifera" to "Fox, Edward" by Various
Others had a forbiddingly fierce aspect with their three enceintes still visible, their loopholes under the staircase, and their high turrets with pointed sides.
From Bouvard and Pécuchet A Tragi-comic Novel of Bourgeois Life by Gustave Flaubert
In actual practice enceintes have been constructed since 1870 in France and other countries, consisting of a simple wall 10 or 12 ft. high with a banquette and loopholes at intervals.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6 "Foraminifera" to "Fox, Edward" by Various
Such rejoicings are still customary at Constantinople, under the name of Donánmá, not only when the Sultanas are enceintes, but also when they are brought to bed.
From The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 07 by Sir Richard Francis Burton
The remains of the city walls are considerable: three different enceintes, one within the other, enclose the upper and lower town and the acropolis.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 4 "Coquelin" to "Costume" by Various
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