enceinte
1
[ en-seynt, ahn-sant; French ahn-sant ]
/ ɛnˈseɪnt, ɑnˈsænt; French ɑ̃ˈsɛ̃t /
adjective
pregnant; with child.
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
Words nearby enceinte
encase,
encasement,
encash,
encastré,
encaustic,
enceinte,
enceladus,
encephal-,
encephalalgia,
encephalasthenia,
encephalatrophy
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
Example sentences from the Web for enceinte
British Dictionary definitions for enceinte (1 of 2)
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