enterrer

Enterrer is a French verb meaning to bury or inter. It denotes placing a body or object underground, typically in a grave, and can also mean to cover something with earth. In addition to literal use, enter “to bury” is common in figurative expressions such as enterrer une idée (to bury an idea) or enterrer des traces (to obscure traces or eliminate evidence).

Etymology and form: the verb comes from Old French enterrer, itself from Latin interrare, meaning to bury in the earth. It is a regular -er verb. The past participle is enterré, and the present participle is enterrant. Like other transitive verbs, most compound tenses use the auxiliary avoir, for example j’ai enterré, tu as enterré. It also appears in idiomatic phrases such as enterrer la hache de guerre (to bury the hatchet).

Usage and nuance: enterr er typically applies to burying physically, as in Ils ont enterré le corps (They buried the body). It can also govern objects: Ils ont enterré un coffre dans le jardin (They buried a chest in the garden). Figuratively, it conveys finality or suppression, as in enterrer une idée or enterrer des traces.

Related terms: inhumation is the act of burying a dead body; enterrement refers to a funeral; ensevelir is another verb meaning to bury or entomb; souterrain and sépulture refer to burial sites.

See also: burial customs, legal definitions of burial, and related French vocabulary for death and memorials.