ensnare

Etymology

It is formed from English en- + snare,^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} formerly also insnare, with the prefix in-.^[3][8][9] Snare is from Old English snearu, also Old Norse snara (“noose, snare”),^[3] and is related to Dutch snaar and German Schnur.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To catch in a snare, chiefly figuratively: 1576, in A. Fleming's translation of King Darius in the Panoplie of Epistles.^[2][5] Etymonline likewise has the 1570s.^[3] Barnhart's first example is in Shakespeare's Lucrece of 1593, and Dictionary.com says 1585–95.^[4][6]

Semantic evolution

Although the simple verb snare, recorded from the late 14th century, was used of small animals and birds as well as figuratively,^[3] the OED finds ensnare chiefly in transferred and figurative uses, of people entangled in difficulties or lured by a deception.^[2] Collins still gives the literal sense first, and the use for trapping someone by dishonest means second.^[9] The noun ensnarement follows in the early 17th century.^[8]

Timeline

• 1576 – to catch in a snare; to entangle or lure.^[2][5] Barnhart has 1593.^[4]
• early 17th century – ensnarement, the action of ensnaring.^[8]

Meanings

Verb

1. To catch in or as if in a snare or net: Fine threads ensnared the moths.^[9][5][2]
2. To trap or gain power over someone by underhand means; to entangle or lure: The swindlers ensnared several pensioners in their scheme.^[9][2]

Word family

• ensnarement
• ensnarer
• ensnaringly
• unensnared

Related words

• snare

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins