enceinte

¹ American  

[en-seynt, ahn-sant, ahn-sant] / ɛnˈseɪnt, ɑnˈsænt, ɑ̃ˈsɛ̃t /

adjective

1. pregnant; with child.

---

enceinte ² American  

[en-seynt, ahn-sant, ahn-sant] / ɛnˈseɪnt, ɑnˈsænt, ɑ̃ˈsɛ̃t /

noun

plural

enceintes

1. a wall or enclosure, as of a fortified place.

2. the place enclosed.

---

enceinte ¹ British  

/ ɑ̃sɛ̃t, ɒnˈsænt /

noun

1. a boundary wall enclosing a defended area

2. the area enclosed

---

enceinte ² British  

/ ɑ̃sɛ̃t, ɒnˈsænt /

adjective

1. another word for pregnant

---

Etymology

Origin of enceinte¹

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

Origin of enceinte²

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

Its remains include an identifying tell mound, at the northern end of the site, a polygonal inner wall circuit, and a large outer defensive wall, or enceinte.

From Science Daily • Apr. 19, 2024

And when Annette Bening appeared at the Academy Awards in 2000, gloriously enceinte in a dark gown, it sparked “a revolution,” Ms. Fuller said.

From New York Times • May 15, 2013

For the girls who are enceinte, that "sack" will be O.K., and the rest of us will just cinch in the side seams and add a swishy cummerbund.

From Time Magazine Archive

She did not, howevet, occupy it when her husband, Emperor Yoshihito, was enthroned in 1915 because she was enceinte.

From Time Magazine Archive

No other Anglo-French keep in Ireland had such an extensive enceinte.

From Beauties and Antiquities of Ireland by Russell, T. O.