endue means senses relating to covering or putting on.; Of a person or thing: to take on (a different form); to adopt, to assume. It carries an Arena rating of 1652, earned across 8 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, endue ranks #659 of 13,218 for Most Beautiful Words, #801 of 13,218 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #1,075 of 13,218 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #4,309 of 13,218 for Most Storied Words.
endue is pronounced /ɪnˈdjuː/.
Why “endue” is a great word
To invest or furnish with a quality, faculty, or possession, as if clothing something in a new nature. Its etymology flows from Late Middle English, chiefly from two sources: the Latin *induere* ('to put on clothes, to assume'), from *indu-* (variant of *in-*, 'in') + a verb from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ew- ('to put on'); and the Old French *enduire* ('to lead in, initiate'), from Latin *inducere* ('to lead in'). Unlike 'endow,' which implies a permanent bestowal from an external patron, or 'imbue,' which suggests a thorough saturation with feeling, to endue is the more intimate, transitive act of induction. It is the late sun enduing a plain wall with momentary gilded glory, the authority a uniform endues upon a hesitant recruit, or the fragile dignity a simple ceremony endues upon raw grief—a transient infusion that alters the essence of what it touches, a weight that becomes warmth, a role that slowly becomes a second skin.
Etymology
From both of the following:
* Chiefly sense 1: Late Middle English induen (“to clothe (someone); to assume or take on (an appearance)”), from Latin induere, the present active infinitive of induō (“to put on (clothes, etc.); to assume (a part)”), from indu- (an archaic variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘in; within’)) + *uō (“to put on (clothes, etc.)”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ew- (“to put clothes or shoes on”)).
* Chiefly sense 3 and sense 4: Late Middle English endeuen, enduen (“to endow; to induct or put (someone into office, etc.); (falconry) of a hawk: to pass food from the crop or gorge into the stomach”), from Old French enduire, induire (modern French enduire), from Latin indūcere, the present active infinitive of indūcō (“to bring or lead in; (by extension) to draw ove
verb
- Senses relating to covering or putting on.; Of a person or thing: to take on (a different form); to adopt, to assume.“Infinite ſhapes of creatures there [in the Garden of Eden] are bred, / And vncouth formes, vvhich none yet euer knevv, / […] / Some fitt for reaſonable ſovvles t’indew, / Some made for beaſts, ſome made for birds to vveare, […]”
- Senses relating to covering or putting on.; To put on (a piece of clothing, etc.); to wear; also (followed by with), to clothe (someone) with something.“Indu'd vvith Robes of various Hevv ſhe [Iris] flies, / And flying dravvs an Arch, (a ſegment of the Skies:) / Then leaves her bending Bovv, and from the ſteep / Deſcends to ſearch the ſilent Houſe of Sleep.”
- Senses relating to covering or putting on.; To put (something) on top of a thing; to cover, to overlay.“[The altar in St. Peter's Basilica] of St. Veronica made by Fra[ncesco] Mochi, has over it in the Reliquary, where they shew'd us the miraculous Sudarium indued wᵗʰ the picture of oʳ Saviour [Jesus]'s face, […]”
- Senses relating to giving some quality or thing.; Followed by with: to invest (someone or something) with a certain power, quality, etc.“[L]earning endueth mens mindes vvith a true ſence of the frailtie of their perſons, the caſualtie of their fortunes, and the dignitie of their ſoule and vocation; […]”
- Senses relating to giving some quality or thing.; Of a quality, etc.: to be inherent in (something).“Perhaps my ſemblance might deceive the truth, / That I to manhood am arriv'd ſo near, / And invvard ripenes doth much leſs appear / That ſom more timely-happy ſpirits indu'th.”
- Senses relating to giving some quality or thing.; To supply (someone) with a thing.“Some reaſons of this double Coronation / I haue poſſeſt you vvithm, and thinke them ſtrong, / And more, more ſtrong, then leſſer is my feare / I ſhall indue you vvith: […]”
- Senses relating to giving some quality or thing.; Synonym of endow (“to invest (a person, group of people, or institution) with property”).“[H]e [Henry V] would be content to take in mariage the Lady Katheryn [Catherine of Valois] daughter vnto the French king [Charles VI of France], and to endue her with all the Duchye and countryes before reherſed.”
- Senses relating to giving some quality or thing.; Synonym of bestow (“to impart (something) gratuitously; to grant”).
- Senses relating to directing or leading.; To raise or rear (someone); to bring up; also, to educate or instruct (someone).
- Senses relating to directing or leading.; To bring (something) to a certain condition.“[L]et our finger ake, / And it endues our other healthfull members, / Euen to that ſence of paine; […]”
- Senses relating to taking in.; Of a hawk: originally, to pass (food in the crop or gizzard) into the stomach; later, to digest (food).“Your gorge not endewed / Without a capon stewed”
- Senses relating to taking in.; Of a person or animal: to digest (food).“Her mete was very crude, / She had not wel endude; […]”
- Senses relating to taking in.; To take on; to absorb.“He did her ſeruice devvtifull, and ſevvd / At hand vvith humble pride, and pleaſing guile, / So cloſely yet, that none but ſhe it vevved, / VVho vvell perceiued all, and all indevvd.”
- Senses relating to taking in.; Of food: to be digested.
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