Why “enlace” is a great word
To bind, entwine, or entangle, as if with laces. From Middle English enlacen (late 14th century), from Old French enlacer, from Late Latin *inlaciare, from Latin in- ("in") + laqueus ("noose, snare"). Unlike "entwine," which suggests a decorative, harmonious coiling, or "connect," which implies a simple, functional link, "enlace" carries the specific, ancient threat of the snare—a binding that encircles and holds fast. It is the deliberate interlocking of fingers in a vow, the constricting embrace of ivy claiming a stone wall, the way shared secrets weave two lives into a single pattern. Here is union as constraint, a tactile, unyielding knot where things are held fast, for better or worse.