endue

American  

[en-doo, -dyoo] / ɛnˈdu, -ˈdyu /

Also indue

verb (used with object)

endued, enduing

1. to invest or endow with some gift, quality, or faculty.

2. to put on; assume.

   Hamlet endued the character of a madman.

3. to clothe.

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endue British  

/ ɪnˈdjuː /

verb

1. (usually foll by with) to invest or provide, as with some quality or trait

2. rare (foll by with) to clothe or dress (in)

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Other Word Forms

• unendued adjective

Etymology

Origin of endue

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English endewen “to induct, initiate,” from Anglo-French, Old French enduire, from Latin indūcere “to lead in, cover, induce”; see induce

Explanation

You probably hope that your years of ballet classes will endue you with the ability to dance like Baryshnikov. In other words, you're dreaming that all of those arabesques and pirouettes will provide you with the dancing talent you wish for. Endue is a fancy literary term that shows up most often in formal writing, but you could impress someone by using it to mean "endow," "invest," or "empower." Less often, endue is used to mean "to put clothes on," or "dress," which makes sense when you know that endue comes from the Latin word induere, or "to put on."

Example Sentences

They stood in silent groups, awaiting the prayer that would endue them with the necessary energy and enthusiasm.

From The Tiger Hunter by Reid, Mayne

After clothing him with all the virtues and accomplishments of the savage character, I proceeded to endue him with that filial affection, whose beauty and power it was my chief object to illustrate.

From The Island Home by Dalziel

Because Knowledge alone doth not endue him with a dexterity of Hand requisite in such a Person, which cannot be acquir'd but by Experience, and repeated Manual Operations.

From The Compleat Surgeon or, the whole Art of Surgery explain'd in a most familiar Method. by Le Clerc, Charles Gabriel

That it may please thee to endue the Lords of the Council, and all the Nobility, with grace, wisdom, and understanding, We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

From The Book of Common Prayer and The Scottish Liturgy by Episcopal Church in Scotland

He was what he had always been, and she had merely deceived herself when she had permitted her girlish fancy to endue him with qualities and graces which he had, it seemed, never possessed.

From Hawtrey's Deputy by Cuneo, Cyrus