<B>en clair,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (French.) in plaintext; not in code or cipher. </DL>
<A NAME="enclasp">
<B>enclasp, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to hold in or as if in a clasp; clasp tightly; embrace. </DL>
<A NAME="enclave">
<B>enclave, </B>noun, verb, <B>-claved,</B> <B>-claving.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a country or district surrounded entirely or in part by territory of another country, or a territory separated from its country by the territory of another country. <BR> <I>Ex. Gibraltar is a British enclave in Spain.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) <DD><B> a. </B>any small group existing apart from a larger group surrounding it. <BR> <I>Ex. They move in with relatives or friends in the little Italys and other ethnic enclaves in the poorer suburbs (Arthur Koestler).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>any small, isolated area. <BR> <I>Ex. [He] ... looked out into a spacious studio with a tall thicket of microphones to the left and, directly in front, an enclave containing a music stand, two microphones, and an upright piano (Nat Hentoff).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> to enclose (foreign territory) within the territory of a country. <BR> <I>Ex. China enclaves the city of Hong Kong.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="enclavement">
<B>enclavement, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act of enclaving. <DD><B> 2. </B>the condition of being an enclave. </DL>
<A NAME="enclisis">
<B>enclisis, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> pronunciation as an enclitic; attachment of an unstressed word to the previous word. </DL>
<A NAME="enclitic">
<B>enclitic, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a word or contraction which, having no stress, is pronounced as part of the preceding word. (Examples:) <I>s</I> in <I>Bert's here</I> (<I>= Bert is here</I>), <I>not</I> in <I>I cannot tell.</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> pronounced as part of the preceding word. </DL>
<A NAME="enclitically">
<B>enclitically, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> in an enclitic manner. </DL>
<A NAME="encloister">
<B>encloister, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Obsolete.) <DD><B> 1. </B>to confine in a cloister. <DD><B> 2. </B>to shut in; confine; immure. </DL>
<A NAME="enclose">
<B>enclose, </B>transitive verb, <B>-closed,</B> <B>-closing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to shut in on all sides; surround. <BR> <I>Ex. The little park was enclosed on all sides by tall apartment buildings.</I> (SYN) encompass. <DD><B> 2. </B>to put a wall or fence around. <BR> <I>Ex. We are going to enclose our back yard to keep dogs out.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to put in an envelope or package along with something else. <BR> <I>Ex. He enclosed a check when he mailed his order. Please enclose my card in the box of flowers.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>to contain. <BR> <I>Ex. a letter enclosing a dollar's worth of stamps.</I> <DD> Also, <B>inclose.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="enclosedconvent">
<B>enclosed convent,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a convent of nuns who are fully isolated from the outside world, devoting themselves to worship, prayer, and contemplation as a means of attaining salvation for themselves and others. </DL>
<A NAME="encloser">
<B>encloser, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person or thing that encloses. </DL>
<A NAME="enclosure">
<B>enclosure, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an enclosed place. <BR> <I>Ex. Those cages are enclosures for the monkeys. A corral is an enclosure for horses.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a thing that encloses. A wall or fence is an enclosure. <DD><B> 3. </B>a thing enclosed. <BR> <I>Ex. The envelope contained a letter and $5 as an enclosure.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>the act of enclosing. <BR> <I>Ex. The enclosure of his resignation in his letter to the president gave him great satisfaction.</I> <DD> Also, <B>inclosure.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="encloud">
<B>encloud, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to envelop in a cloud; becloud. </DL>
<A NAME="encode">
<B>encode, </B>transitive verb, <B>-coded,</B> <B>-coding.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to put into code. <BR> <I>Ex. The spy encoded his message and gave it to a courier for delivery. They encode the information and store it electronically for release on command (Atlantic).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="encodement">
<B>encodement, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> translation into code. <BR> <I>Ex. The ordinary way of breaking a cipher is to find an example of the use of this cipher sufficiently long so that the pattern of encodement becomes obvious to the skilled investigator (Norbert Wiener).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="encoder">
<B>encoder, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person or thing that encodes. <DD><B> 2. </B>a device which converts electronically one kind of signal into another. In computers, an encoder is used to convert one of several input signals into several coded outputs. </DL>
<A NAME="encoeur">
<B>en coeur,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (French.) in the shape of a heart. </DL>
<A NAME="encoffin">
<B>encoffin, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to put or enclose in a coffin. </DL>
<A NAME="encoignure">
<B>encoignure, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a piece of furniture, especially of ornamental design, made with an angle to fit into a corner. </DL>
<A NAME="encolpion">
<B>encolpion, </B>noun, pl. <B>-pia.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (in the early and medieval church) a small reliquary or a casket containing a miniature copy of the Gospels, worn hanging in front of the breast. </DL>
<A NAME="encolpium">
<B>encolpium, </B>noun, pl. <B>-pia.</B> =encolpion.</DL>
<A NAME="encomiast">
<B>encomiast, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a writer or speaker of encomiums; eulogist. </DL>
<A NAME="encomiastic">
<B>encomiastic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> giving high praise; eulogistic. </DL>
<B>encomiastically, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> in an encomiastic manner. </DL>
<A NAME="encomium">
<B>encomium, </B>noun, pl. <B>-miums,</B> <B>-mia.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an elaborate expression of praise; high praise; eulogy. <BR> <I>Ex. Give appreciation to the living rather than encomiums to the dead.</I> (SYN) panegyric. </DL>
<A NAME="encompass">
<B>encompass, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to go or reach all the way around; encircle. <BR> <I>Ex. The atmosphere encompasses the earth. Look how my ring encompasseth thy finger (Shakespeare).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to include; contain. <BR> <I>Ex. Our history book encompasses all the important events in American history since 1607. The prince offered a jeweled casket, fit to encompass the rarer jewel it held.</I> (SYN) enclose. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Obsolete.) to outwit. </DL>
<A NAME="encompassment">
<B>encompassment, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the act of encompassing. <DD><B> 1. </B>the condition of being encompassed. </DL>
<A NAME="encoop">
<B>encoop, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to coop up. </DL>
<A NAME="encore">
<B>encore, </B>interjection, noun, verb, <B>-cored,</B> <B>-coring.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>interj. </I> once more; again. <BR> <I>Ex. The audience liked the song so much they shouted, "Encore! Encore!"</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a demand by the audience for the repetition of a song or other performance, or for another appearance of the performer or performers. <BR> <I>Ex. There were only two encores in the whole show.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the repetition by the performer in response to such a demand. <DD><B> 3. </B>an extra song or appearance by the performer. <DD><B> 4. </B>another appearance, match, bout, or the like involving the same people, in sports, the arts, or other performance. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to call for a repetition of (a song or other performance) or the reappearance of (a performer). <BR> <I>Ex. The audience encored the singer.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="encounter">
<B>encounter, </B>verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to meet unexpectedly. <BR> <I>Ex. What if we should encounter a bear? I encountered an old friend on the train.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to be faced with (difficulties, opposition, etc). <BR> <I>Ex. He encountered many difficulties before the job was done. In "Pilgrim's Progress," the hero, Christian, encounters many hardships in his journey to the Celestial City.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to meet as an enemy; meet in a fight or battle. <BR> <I>Ex. He encountered the strange knight in hand-to-hand conflict.</I> (SYN) engage. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to meet; meet unexpectedly; have an encounter. <BR> <I>Ex. We never met before, and never ... may again encounter (Byron).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>an unexpected meeting. <BR> <I>Ex. A fortunate encounter brought the two friends together after a long separation. Their first encounter was brief.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a meeting face to face. <DD><B> 3. </B>a meeting of enemies; fight; battle. <BR> <I>Ex. The two armies had a desperate encounter. (Figurative.) Who ever knew Truth put to the worse in a free and open encounter? (Milton). (Figurative.) This keen encounter of our wits (Shakespeare).</I> (SYN) conflict, combat, skirmish. <DD><B> 4. </B>(U.S.) a meeting or session of an encounter group. <DD><B> 5. </B>(Obsolete.) behavior. </DL>
<A NAME="encountergroup">
<B>encounter group,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a group of people, especially people with different backgrounds, who get together to increase their self-awareness, sensitivity to others, and common interests or mutual objectives; T-group. <BR> <I>Ex. The encounter group, as it evolved at Esalen, is first of all a vehicle to provide an intense emotional experience (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="encourage">
<B>encourage, </B>transitive verb, <B>-aged,</B> <B>-aging.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to give hope, courage, or confidence to; urge on. <BR> <I>Ex. The cheers of their schoolmates encouraged the players to try to win the game for the school.</I> (SYN) hearten, inspirit. <DD><B> 2. </B>to give help to; be favorable to; support. <BR> <I>Ex. High prices for farm products encourage farming.</I> (SYN) promote, advance, help. <DD><B> 3. </B>to promote the development of; foster. <BR> <I>Ex. Sunlight encourages the growth of green plants.</I> </DL>
