DictionaryRoot: en-
Greek
en-
in, within
Forms
- en-
- em- — Used before b, m, or p in Greek compounds.
- el- — Used before l in Greek compounds.
Origin
Reconstructed Proto-Indo-European *en, ‘in.’
Note
Related to Latin in-, but borrowed through a separate Greek route.
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noun
emphasis
EM-fuh-sis/ˈemfəsɪs/
Special importance or force given to something.
Etymology
The pieces convey something appearing or being shown within an expression. In rhetoric, this meant words suggesting more than they literally said; the stress used to signal that extra meaning developed into emphasis as special force or importance.