Dictionary

enshrine en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ɪnˈʃɹaɪn/ (US)
• /ɪnˈʃɹʌɪn/ (UK)
• /ɛnˈʃɹʌɪn/ (UK)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Italic *en Proto-Italic *en- Latin in- Old French en-bor. Middle English en- English en- English shrine English enshrine From en- + shrine.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To enclose (a sacred relic etc.) in a shrine or chest.
   • A Phœnix, gaz'd by all, as that ſole Bird / When, to enſhrine his reliques in the Sun’s / Bright temple, to Ægyptian Theb's he flies. 1667, John Milton, “Book V”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 272–274:
2. (broadly, transitive) To preserve or cherish (something) as though in a shrine; to preserve or contain, especially with some reverence.
   • Warlike and Martiall Talbot, Burgonie / Inſhrines thee in his heart, and there erects / Thy noble Deeds, as Valors Monuments. 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], page 108, column 2:
   • The minister knew well that he was himself enshrined within the stainless sanctity of her heart, which hung its snowy curtains about his image, imparting to religion the warmth of love, and to love a religious purity. 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, chapter XX, in The Scarlet Letter, a Romance, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, →OCLC:
   • At the centre of Muhammad's achievement was the extraordinary poetry which enshrined his revelations. 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 256:
3. (figuratively) To protect (an idea, ideal, or philosophy) within an official law or treaty.
   • In total, it would have enshrined over 100 rights into Chile’s national charter, more than any other constitution in the world, including the right to housing, education, clean air, water, food, sanitation, internet access, retirement benefits, free legal advice and care “from birth to death.” 2022 September 4, Jack Nicas, “Chile Says ‘No’ to Left-Leaning Constitution After 3 Years of Debate”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
   • The links were mostly to newspaper articles and public records, and Google refused to comply, but with the “right to be forgotten” enshrined as a key objective of the European Union’s 2011 data protection strategy, more and bigger cases are likely to follow. 2011 April 19, Sumit Paul-Choudhury, “Digital legacy: The fate of your online soul”, in NewScientist:
   • Other measures, such as compensation for victims, will be enshrined in the proposed new law.

Forms

Deriveds

enshrinee · unenshrined · enshrinement · enshriner

Translations (24)

ru закреплять (to protect within an official law or treaty) · el φυλάσσω ιερά (to enclose (a sacred relic etc.) in a shrine or chest) · bg щадя (to preserve or cherish (something) as though in a shrine) · bg тача (to preserve or cherish (something) as though in a shrine) · sv stadfästa (to protect within an official law or treaty) · el κατοχυρώνω (to protect within an official law or treaty) · it consacrare (to protect within an official law or treaty) · ga cumhdaigh (to protect within an official law or treaty) · ru лелеять (to preserve or cherish (something) as though in a shrine) · el διαφυλάσσω (to preserve or cherish (something) as though in a shrine) · it sancire (to protect within an official law or treaty) · hy սափորել (to enclose (a sacred relic etc.) in a shrine or chest) · de verehren (to preserve or cherish (something) as though in a shrine) · it racchiudere (to enclose (a sacred relic etc.) in a shrine or chest) · de verankern (to protect within an official law or treaty) · ru помеща́ть в раку (to enclose (a sacred relic etc.) in a shrine or chest) · es consagra (to protect within an official law or treaty) · hy պահել (to preserve or cherish (something) as though in a shrine) · hy փայփայել (to preserve or cherish (something) as though in a shrine) · ru помеща́ть в ковче́г (to enclose (a sacred relic etc.) in a shrine or chest) · de but see in einem Schrein bewahren (to enclose (a sacred relic etc.) in a shrine or chest) · fr enchâsser (to enclose (a sacred relic etc.) in a shrine or chest) · ru бе́режно храни́ть (to preserve or cherish (something) as though in a shrine) · hy պահպանել (to preserve or cherish (something) as though in a shrine)