enfold

English

Etymology

Alteration of earlier infold, from Middle English infolden, equivalent to en- +‎ fold.

Verb

enfold (third-person singular simple present enfolds, present participle enfolding, simple past and past participle enfolded)

1. (transitive) To envelop and wrap up something.
   • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto V”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC:

     In words, like weeds, I’ll wrap me o’er,
     ⁠Like coarsest clothes against the cold:
     ⁠But that large grief which these enfold
     Is given in outline and no more.

2. (transitive) To clasp with the arms; embrace.
   • 1865, Walt Whitman, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”, in Sequel to Drum-Taps: When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d and other poems:

     Prais’d be the fathomless universe, / For life and joy, and for objects and knowledge curious, / And for love, sweet love—but praise! praise! praise! / For the sure-enwinding arms of cool-enfolding death.

Derived terms

• enfoldedly
• enfolder
• enfoldingly
• enfoldment
• unenfolded

Translations

to fold something around, to envelop

Bulgarian: увивам (bg) (uvivam) Maori: kōpaki

Anagrams

• Folden, folden, fondle

Danish

Etymology

Compare German Einfalt.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /eːnfɔld/, [ˈeːnˌfʌlˀ]

Noun

enfold c

1. simplicity, naivety, simple-mindedness

Synonyms

• enfoldighed

Related terms

• enfoldig ("simple", "simple-minded")