embolden

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Pronunciation 1.3 Verb 1.3.1 Synonyms 1.3.2 Quotations 1.4 References

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

Bold + em- -en, prebilabial intensifying verbal circumfix.^[1]

[edit] Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /ɛmˈbəʊldən/

  Rhymes: -əʊldən

[edit] Verb

to embolden (third-person singular simple present emboldens, present participle emboldening, simple past and past participle emboldened)

1. (transitive) To render (someone) more bold or courageous.
2. (transitive) To encourage, inspire, or motivate.
3. (transitive) (typography) To format text in boldface.
   • 2004: Jason Whittaker, The Cyberspace Handbook, p216

     The tags <p></p> indicate paragraphs breaks, and we have included some basic text formatting: <em></em> for emphasis (typically italics), <u></u> for underline and <strong></strong> to embolden text.

[edit] Synonyms

• (typography): boldface

[edit] Quotations

• For examples of the usage of this term see the citations page.

[edit] References

• Notes:

1. ^ The Oxford English Dictionary (2007) states that embolden was formed by the simultaneous prefixing of en- (or in-) and suffixing of -en, which, by definition, constitutes circumfixation.