endue

American  

[en-doo, -dyoo] / ɛnˈdu, -ˈdyu /

Also indue

verb (used with object)

endued, enduing

1. to invest or endow with some gift, quality, or faculty.

2. to put on; assume.

   Hamlet endued the character of a madman.

3. to clothe.

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endue British  

/ ɪnˈdjuː /

verb

1. (usually foll by with) to invest or provide, as with some quality or trait

2. rare (foll by with) to clothe or dress (in)

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Other Word Forms

• unendued adjective

Etymology

Origin of endue

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English endewen “to induct, initiate,” from Anglo-French, Old French enduire, from Latin indūcere “to lead in, cover, induce”; see induce

Explanation

You probably hope that your years of ballet classes will endue you with the ability to dance like Baryshnikov. In other words, you're dreaming that all of those arabesques and pirouettes will provide you with the dancing talent you wish for. Endue is a fancy literary term that shows up most often in formal writing, but you could impress someone by using it to mean "endow," "invest," or "empower." Less often, endue is used to mean "to put clothes on," or "dress," which makes sense when you know that endue comes from the Latin word induere, or "to put on."

Example Sentences

"Give them," said the son of Houadir, "to me, and I will endue them with stronger virtues, and thou shalt by them have power also over others, as well as to defend thyself."

From Eastern Tales by Many Story Tellers by Valentine, L. (Laura)

O immortal God, endue me With the gifts for which I ask.

From Morning and Evening Prayers for All Days of the Week Together With Confessional, Communion, and Other Prayers and Hymns for Mornings and Evenings, and Other Occasions by Habermann, John

The day was an exceedingly warm one, and he derived some little satisfaction from the fact that, at his present work, he was not called upon to endue the armour of respectability.

From Brood of the Witch-Queen by Rohmer, Sax

Two vulture brothers once I knew: Each form at will could they endue.

From The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Griffith, Ralph T. H. (Ralph Thomas Hotchkin)

Nothing was wanting to endue that drive with every illusion of a dream.

From Linda Lee, Incorporated A Novel by Vance, Louis Joseph