- enrolled nurse
- English Nature
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
EN abbreviation for (in Britain)
en-1 ,prefix.
-en1 ,suffix.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- en- is attached to adjectives or nouns to form verbs meaning:
- to cause (a person or thing) to be in (the place, condition, or state mentioned);
to keep in or place in:en- + rich → enrich (= to cause to be rich);
en- + tomb → entomb (= to cause to be in a tomb); - to restrict on all sides, completely:en- + circle → encircle (= to restrict on all sides within a circle).
- to cause (a person or thing) to be in (the place, condition, or state mentioned);
-en1 ,suffix.
- -en is used to form verbs and adjectives.
- It is attached to some adjectives to form verbs with the meaning "to be or make'':hard + -en → harden (= to be or make hard).
- It is attached to some nouns to form verbs with the meaning "to add to, cause to be, or have'':length + -en → lengthen (= to add length to;make long).
- It is attached to some nouns that are materials or sources of something to form adjectives that describe the source or material:gold + -en → golden (= like gold).
en
(en),USA pronunciation n.
adj.
en-1 :
en-2 :
-en1 :
-en2 :
-en3 :
-en4 :
-en5 :
- the letter N, n.
- PrintingAlso called nut. half of the width of an em.
adj.
- Printinghaving the area of an en quad or the length of an en:en quad; en dash.
- 1785–95
en-1 :
- a prefix occurring originally in loanwords from French and productive in English on this model, forming verbs with the general sense "to cause (a person or thing) to be in'' the place, condition, or state named by the stem;
more specifically, "to confine in or place on'' (enshrine;
enthrone;
entomb);
"to cause to be in'' (enslave;
entrust;
enrich;
encourage;
endear);
"to restrict'' in the manner named by the stem, typically with the additional sense "on all sides, completely'' (enwind;
encircle;
enclose;
entwine). This prefix is also attached to verbs in order to make them transitive, or to give them a transitive marker if they are already transitive (enkindle;
enliven;
enshield;
enface).
- Latin in- in-2
- Old French
- Middle English
en-2 :
- a prefix meaning "within, in,'' occurring in loanwords from Greek:energy; enthusiasm.
- Greek (often through Latin); cognate with in-1, in-2
-en1 :
- a suffix formerly used to form transitive and intransitive verbs from adjectives (fasten;
harden;
sweeten), or from nouns (heighten;
lengthen;
strengthen).
- cognate with -n- of like verbs in other Gmc languages (Old Norse fastna) Middle English, Old English -n- (as in Middle English fast-n-en, Old English fǣst-n-ian to make fast, fasten)
-en2 :
- a suffix used to form adjectives of source or material from nouns:ashen;golden;oaken.
- Middle English, Old English; cognate with Old High German -īn, Gothic -eins, Latin -īnus; see -ine1
-en3 :
- a suffix used to mark the past participle in many strong and some weak verbs:taken; proven.
- cognate with German -en, Old Norse -inn Middle English, Old English
-en4 :
- a suffix used in forming the plural of some nouns:brethren;children;oxen.
- Middle English; Old English -an, case ending of n-stem nouns, as in naman oblique singular, and nominative and accusative plural of nama name; akin to n-stem forms in other Indo-European languages, as in Latin nōmen, nōmin- name
-en5 :
- a diminutive suffix:kitten; maiden.
- Middle English, Old English, from neuter of -en2
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
en /ɛn/ n
- a unit of measurement, half the width of an em
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
-en suffix forming verbs
- cause to be; become; cause to have: blacken, heighten
-en suffix forming adjectives
- of; made of; resembling: ashen, earthen, wooden
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
en-, em- prefix forming verbs and verbal derivatives
- (from nouns)
- put in or on: entomb, enthrone
- go on or into: enplane
- surround or cover with: enmesh
- furnish with: empower
- (from adjectives and nouns) cause to be in a certain condition: enable, encourage, enrich, enslave
en-, em- prefix forming verbs and verbal derivatives
- in; into; inside: endemic
'EN' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
agog
- Ain
- Aix-en-Provence
- Beckett
- Bren gun
- Chou En-lai
- Crécy
- e'en
- em-
- embarrass
- embattle
- embonpoint
- embroider
- empathy
- en-
- -en
- en bloc
- en brosse
- encephalo-
- encephalon
- enchase
- enclitic
- encomium
- encroach
- encumber
- endeavour
- endemic
- endermic
- endorse
- endow
- energy
- en famille
- en fête
- engage
- en garde
- engrave
- engross
- enhance
- enharmonic
- enjambment
- enjoy
- en masse
- en passant
- en rapport
- en route
- ensconce
- ensile
- ensue
- acknowledge
- added entry