Enwords

Enword is a term used in linguistics to describe a word formed by the English derivational prefix en- attached to a base word. Enwords are typically verbs, or occasionally adjectives, whose meaning is often to cause, to put into a certain state, or to provide with a quality.

The en- prefix originates in Old French en-, from Latin in- meaning into or onto. In English, en- is productive and can alter the meaning of a wide range of bases. The form sometimes changes to em- before bilabial consonants, as in empower.

Common enwords include enable (to provide with the ability), enrich (to add value or quality), enlighten (to provide knowledge or insight), encase or enclose (to surround with a case or boundary), encircle, encourage, and ensure. Each exhibits the core sense of causing a transition or introducing a new state.

Not every word starting with en- is an enword in the strict sense; some are borrowings with legacy affixes or unrelated etymologies. In linguistic analysis, en- is treated as a productive derivational prefix in English, contributing to word formation rather than functioning as an independent root.

This concept is of interest in morphology studies and lexicography for tracing derivational patterns and for natural language processing, where recognizing en- derivatives supports tasks such as lemmatization and syntax parsing.