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Origin and history of imbue

imbue(v.)

early 15c., "to keep wet; to soak, saturate;" also figuratively "to cause to absorb" (feelings, opinions, etc.), from Latin imbuere "moisten, wet, soak, saturate," figuratively "to fill; to taint," a word of uncertain origin, perhaps from the same root as imbrication. Compare also Old French embu, past participle of emboivre, from Latin imbibere "drink in, soak in" (see imbibe), which might have influenced the English word. Related: Imbued; imbuing.

also from early 15c.

Entries linking to imbue

imbibe(v.)

late 14c., embiben, "saturate, feed liquid into," from Old French imbiber, embiber "to soak into," and directly from Latin imbibere "absorb, drink in, inhale," from assimilated form of in- "into, in, on, upon" (from PIE root *en "in") + bibere "to drink," related to potare "to drink" (from PIE root *po(i)- "to drink").

By mid-15c. as "to drink" (a liquid). The figurative sense of "mentally drink in" (knowledge, ideas, etc.) was the main one in classical Latin, and is attested in English from 1550s. Related: Imbibed; imbiber; imbibing.

imbrication(n.)

"an overlapping of edges" (as of roof tiles, etc.), 1640s, from French imbrication, noun of action from stem of Latin imbricare "to cover with tiles," from imbricem (nominative imbrex) "curved roof tile used to draw off rain," from imber (genitive imbris) "rain, heavy rain; rainwater," from PIE *ombh-ro- "rain" (source also of Sanskrit abhra "cloud, thunder-cloud, rainy weather," Greek ombros "rain, a shower"), from root *nebh- "moist; water" (see nebula).

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    hue
    "color," Old English hiw "color; form, appearance; species, kind; beauty," earlier heow, hiow, from Proto-Germanic *hiwam (source also of Old Norse hy "bird's down," Swedish hy "skin, complexion," Gothic hiwi "form, appearance"), from PIE *kiwo-, suffixed form of root *kei- (2),
    soak
    Middle English soken, from Old English socian (intransitive) "to soak, to lie in liquid," from Proto-Germanic *sukon (source also of West Flemish soken), possibly from PIE root *seue- (2) "to take liquid" (see sup (v.2)). The Old English word is a secondary form of sucan (past pa
    diffuse
    1520s (transitive), "to pour out and spread, cause to flow and spread;" 1650s (intransitive), "spread abroad, scatter in all directions;" from Latin diffusus, past participle of diffundere "to pour out or away," from dis- "apart, in every direction" (see dis-) + fundere "to pour"
    indoctrinate
    Meaning "to imbue with an idea or opinion" first recorded 1832. Related: Indoctrinated; indoctrinating....
    taint
    1570s, "to corrupt, contaminate," also "to touch, tinge, imbue slightly" (1590s), from Middle English teynten "to convict...
    saturate
    meaning "to impregnate or unite with until no more can be received" is from 1680s; the general sense of "soak thoroughly, imbue...
    steep
    Figuratively, "imbue with a specified influence," by c. 1600. Related: Steeped; steeping....
    brew
    "produce (a beverage) by fermentation; prepare by mixing and boiling," Old English breowan (class II strong verb, past tense breaw, past participle browen), from Proto-Germanic *breuwan "to brew" (source also of Old Norse brugga, Old Frisian briuwa, Middle Dutch brouwen, Old High
    riddle
    "A word game or joke, comprising a question or statement couched in deliberately puzzling terms, propounded for solving by the hearer/reader using clues embedded within that wording" [Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore], early 13c., redels, from Old English rædels "riddle; cou
    color
    early 13c., "skin color, complexion," from Anglo-French culur, coulour, Old French color "color, complexion, appearance" (Modern French couleur), from Latin color "color of the skin; color in general, hue; appearance," from Old Latin colos, originally "a covering" (akin to celare

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