encurse

English

Etymology

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

Verb

encurse (third-person singular simple present encurs, present participle ing, 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

• censure