enchase means to set (a gemstone, etc.) into. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 88 out of 100.
Why “enchase” is a great word
To fix a gem, metal, or object into a surrounding material as a decorative setting, or to serve as such an ornamented border. From Middle English *enchacen*, *enchasen*, from Middle French *enchasser*, equivalent to *en-* ('in') + *chasse* ('case, setting'), from Latin *capsa* ('box, case'); first attested in late Middle English (1425–75). Unlike "embed," which implies a functional fastening, or "engrave," which involves cutting away a surface, to *enchase* is to create a permanent socket for beauty. It is the cold slide of a sapphire into a claw of gold, the deliberate hammering of silver wire into a trough carved in ebony, and the final, satisfying *snick* of a ruby seated perfectly into its prepared hollow—a testament that the truest art is often an act of exquisite imprisonment.
Etymology
From Middle English enchacen, enchasen, from Middle French enchasser.
verb
- To set (a gemstone, etc.) into.“The nails faln off by VVhit-flavves: Art's / VViſe hand enchaſing here thoſe vvarts, / VVhich vve to others (from our ſelves) / Sell, and brought hither by the Elves.”
- To be a setting for.“My ragged rimes are all too rude and bace, / Her heauenly lineaments for to enchace.”
- To decorate with jewels, or with inlaid ornament.“Thy Garments ſhall be made of Medean ſilke, / Enchaſt with precious iewels of mine owne: […]”
- To cut or carve, as with a weapon.“They tooke their ſwords againe, and each enchaſte / Deepe wounds in the ſoft fleſh of his ſtrong foe[…]”