embrangle

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₁én

Proto-Italic *en

Proto-Italic *en-

Latin in-

Old French en-bor.

Middle English en-

English em-

English brangle

English embrangle

From em- + brangle.

Verb

embrangle (third-person singular simple present embrangles, present participle embrangling, simple past and past participle embrangled)

1. (transitive) To embroil.
   • 2003, Robert S. Leiken, Why Nicaragua Vanished: A Story of Reporters and Revolutionaries:

     When it came to governments as hostile to Washington as the Sandinista, such an observation embrangles Sigal's larger claim about "official dominance of national and foreign news."

   • 1857, Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown's School Days:

     Then there was poor Jacob Dodson, the half-witted boy, who ambled about cheerfully, undertaking messages and little helpful odds and ends for every one, which, however, poor Jacob managed always hopelessly to embrangle.

Derived terms

• disembrangle
• embranglement