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

The Hall of Cynddylan is gloomy this night, Without fire, without candle— Except God doth, who will endue me with patience?

From Trevethlan (Vol 3 of 3) A Cornish Story. by Watson, William Davy

But he who can raise a cancerous corpse from an operating table, and endue it with life and health upon the instant, can do that and more.

From A Second Coming by Marsh, Richard

The strangeness of his manner, his obvious dejection, the amazing humility of his address, combined to endue Stephanie with a composure she had scarcely hoped to attain.

From The Swindler and Other Stories by Dell, Ethel M. (Ethel May)

It is “the eyes alone that stamp the face with the outward symbol of animation and vitality,” and which endue it with the visible “sanctity of reason.”

From The Ladies Book of Useful Information Compiled from many sources by Anonymous

The purpose underlying the revelation of every heavenly Book, nay, of every divinely-revealed verse, is to endue all men with righteousness and understanding, so that peace and tranquillity may be firmly established amongst them.

From Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh by Bahá'u'lláh