encurse

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From Middle English *encursen (suggested by encursing), equivalent to en- +‎ curse.

Verb

[edit]

encurse (third-person singular simple present encurses, present participle encursing, simple past and past participle encursed)

  1. (transitive, archaic) to place or bring a curse upon; curse
    • 1885, Medora Clark, Dignity of Labor:
      The mythic story of a race encursed
      To labor, by a vengeful king, because
      One rash progenitor forgot his laws,
      Was held as sacred, till it grew and burst []
    • 1914, The Painter and Decorator - Volume 28:
      How dare ye blaspheme In the sunlight —
      By heeding a despot's behest
      That ye widow thy wife and encurse the unborn
      To fodder a king-vulture's nest!
    • 2002, Hal Westhead, After Life:
      All that lured and enraged him, enticed and revolted him, bewitched and encursed him seemed to have peeled itself from the page of fictitious icons and been made tantalising flesh before him.

Anagrams

[edit]