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Origin and history of *en

*en

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "in."

It might form all or part of: and; atoll; dysentery; embargo; embarrass; embryo; empire; employ; en- (1) "in; into;" en- (2) "near, at, in, on, within;" enclave; endo-; enema; engine; enoptomancy; enter; enteric; enteritis; entero-; entice; ento-; entrails; envoy; envy; episode; esoteric; imbroglio; immolate; immure; impede; impend; impetus; important; impostor; impresario; impromptu; in; in- (2) "into, in, on, upon;" inchoate; incite; increase; inculcate; incumbent; industry; indigence; inflict; ingenuous; ingest; inly; inmost; inn; innate; inner; innuendo; inoculate; insignia; instant; intaglio; inter-; interim; interior; intern; internal; intestine; intimate (adj.) "closely acquainted, very familiar;" intra-; intricate; intrinsic; intro-; introduce; introduction; introit; introspect; invert; mesentery.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit antara- "interior;" Greek en "in," eis "into," endon "within;" Latin in "in, into," intro "inward," intra "inside, within;" Old Irish in, Welsh yn, Old Church Slavonic on-, Old English in "in, into," inne "within, inside."

Entries linking to *en

and(conj.)

Old English and, ond, originally meaning "thereupon, next," from Proto-Germanic *unda (source also of Old Saxon endi, Old Frisian anda, Middle Dutch ende, Old High German enti, German und, Old Norse enn), from PIE root *en "in."

Introductory use (implying connection to something previous) was in Old English. To represent vulgar or colloquial pronunciation often written an', 'n'. Phrase and how as an exclamation of emphatic agreement dates from early 1900s.

atoll(n.)

"island consisting of a strip or ring of coral around a central lagoon," 1620s, atollon, from Malayalam (Dravidian) atolu "reef," which is said to be from adal "closing, uniting." Watkins writes, "Perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit antara-, interior" (from PIE root *en "in"). The original use was in reference to the Maldives. The word was popularized in its present form by Darwin's writings.

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dysentery
diseased characterized by inflammation of the mucous membrane of the large intestine, late 14c., dissenterie, from Old French disentere (13c.) and directly from Medieval Latin dysenteria, from Greek dysenteria, coined by Hippocrates, from dys- "bad, abnormal, difficult" (see dys-
embargo
"order forbidding ships from certain other nations from entering or leaving a nation's ports," 1590s, from Spanish embargo "seizure, arrest; embargo," noun of action from embargar "restrain, impede, arrest, embargo," from Vulgar Latin *imbarricare, from assimilated form of in- "i
empire
mid-14c., "territory subject to an emperor's rule;" in general "realm, dominion;" late 14c. as "authority of an emperor, supreme power in governing; imperial power," in Middle English generally of the Roman Empire. From Old French empire "rule, authority, kingdom, imperial rule"
engross
c. 1400, "to buy up the whole stock of" (in Anglo-French from c. 1300), from Old French en gros "in bulk, in a large quantity..., at wholesale," as opposed to en detail....A parallel engross, meaning "to write (something) in large letters," is from Anglo-French engrosser, from Old French en gros...
embrace
embracier (12c., Modern French embrasser) "clasp in the arms, enclose; covet, handle, cope with," from assimilated form of en...- "in" (see en- (1)) + brace, braz "the arms," from Latin bracchium (neuter plural brachia) "an arm, a forearm," from Greek...
Inverness
, from Old Irish *in(d)ber- "estuary," literally "a carrying in," from Celtic *endo-ber-o-, from *endo- "in" (from PIE *en-do...-, extended form of root *en; see in) + from *ber- "to carry," from PIE root *bher- (1) "to carry," also "to bear children...
embroil
disorder," from French embrouillier "entangle, confuse, embroil" (cognate of Italian imbrogliare), from assimilated form of en...- "in" (see en- (1)) + brouiller "confuse," from Old French brooillier "to mix, mingle," figuratively "to have sexual intercourse...
pirate
c. 1300 (mid-13c. as a surname), "a sea-robber, sea-plunderer, one who without authority and by violence seizes or interferes with the ship or property of another on the sea," especially one who is habitually engaged in such robbery or sails the seas for the robbery and plunder o
fate
late 14c., "one's lot or destiny; predetermined course of life;" also "one's guiding spirit," from Old French fate and directly from Latin fata (source also of Spanish hado, Portuguese fado, Italian fato), neuter plural of fatum "prophetic declaration of what must be, oracle, pre
remorse
"intense and painful self-condemnation and penitence due to consciousness of guilt; the pain of a guilty conscience," late 14c., from Old French remors (Modern French remords) and directly from Medieval Latin remorsum "a biting back or in return," noun use of neuter past particip

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