Dictionary

enfasten en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ɛnˈfæsə̆n/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *fastuz Proto-West Germanic *fast Old English fæst Middle English fast English fast English en- -en English enfasten From fast + en- -en.

Meanings

1. (literary, rare) To fasten, to bind tightly.
   • c 1819–1861: Arthur Hugh Clough, Amours de Voyage: Canto V, V. Claude tu Eustace Utterly vain is, alas! this attempt at the Absolute, — wholly! I, who believed not in her, because I would fain believe nothing, Have to believe as I may, with a wilful, unmeaning acceptance. I, who refused to enfasten the roots of my floating existence In the rich earth, cling now to the hard, naked rock that is left me, — Ah! she was worthy, Eustace — and that, indeed, is my comfort, — Worthy a nobler heart than a fool such as I could have given her.

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