imbrue etymology

Etymology

The word "imbrue" derives from the Latin verb "imbruere," which means "to wet thoroughly," "to soak," or "to drench." It is composed of the prefix "im-" (meaning "in" or "into") and "bruere" (meaning "to boil").

Meaning and Origin

In English, "imbrue" has several related meanings:

• To soak or saturate: To permeate or drench something thoroughly with a liquid.
• To stain or color: To cause something to become discolored or dyed.
• To taint or contaminate: To corrupt or pollute something with something harmful or undesirable.

The original Latin meaning of "to wet thoroughly" likely gave rise to the sense of staining or coloring. When something is soaked in a liquid, it absorbs the liquid's color and becomes tinged or discolored.

Over time, the word "imbrue" has also come to be used figuratively to describe the tainting or contamination of something with something harmful. This may be related to the notion that evil or harmful things are often described as "dark" or "staining."

Examples

• "Her hands were imbrued with blood after her long battle."
• "The fabric was imbrued with a deep crimson dye."
• "His reputation was imbrued with allegations of corruption."

imbrue relate terms

• embitter

  Etymology Middle English embitteren from Anglo Norman French embitterer from Medieva

• embody

  Etymology Old French embodier Latin in in corpus body Proto Indo European

• beer

  Etymology The word beer derives from the Proto Germanic word bius biauz meaning both

• bever

  Etymology The word bever has its origins in the Old English word beofor which refer

• beverage

  Etymology The word beverage derives from the Middle English word beverage which it

• bibitory

  Etymology The word bibitory comes from the Latin verb bibere which means to drink

• bibulous

  Etymology Latin bibulus drinking Meaning and Origin Bibulous means tending

• hibachi

  Etymology Japanese 火鉢 hibachi Meaning A traditional Japanese heating applia

• imbibe

  Etymology The word imbibe comes from the Latin word imbibere which means to drink

• imbrue

  Etymology The word imbrue derives from the Latin verb imbruere which means to wet t

• pinocytosis

  Etymology pino Gr pinein to drink cytosis Gr kytos cell Meaning Pinocyt

• pirogi

  Etymology Russian пироги́ pirogí Ukrainian пироги pyrohy Polish p

• poison

  Etymology The word poison originates from the Old French word poison which is deriv

• potable

  Etymology of Potable The word potable originates from the Latin word potabilis wh

• potion

  Etymology The word potion is derived from the Old French word potion which in turn

• symposium

  Etymology and Origin The word symposium comes from the Ancient Greek word συμπό

• drench

  Etymology The word drench comes from the Middle English word drenchen meaning to we

• saturate

  Etymology Latin satur adj compare to saturare v to fill to satisfy Proto Indo

• Antioch

  Etymology Greek Αντιόχεια Antiókheia Meaning By Victory or Fortres

• attitude

  Etymology Medieval Latin aptitudo natural fitness suitability Latin aptus fit

• enterprise

  Etymology The term enterprise has its origins in the Old French word entreprendre fo

• copacetic

  Etymology The word copacetic is believed to originate from two possible sources Cop

• groom

  Etymology Middle English from Old English grōma of Germanic origin Meaning A man wh

• drive

  Etymology The word drive has its roots in Old English deriving from the verb drīfan

• candidate

  Etymology The word candidate comes from the Latin candidus meaning white In anci