rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryRoot: in-
Latin

in-

in, into, on, upon

Forms

  • in-
  • im- — Used before b, m, or p in Latin.
  • il- — Used before l in Latin.
  • ir- — Used before r in Latin.
  • en- — Developed in French in some words later borrowed into English.

Origin

Reconstructed Proto-Indo-European *en, ‘in.’

Note

Identical spellings can hide two different prefixes: this one indicates position or direction, while the other means ‘not.’

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Two funeral workers slide a closed coffin from a wheeled bier into a stone burial niche, showing the literal act of placing someone in a tomb.
verb

entomb

in-TOOM/ɪnˈtuːm/

To bury or enclose as if in a tomb.

Etymology
enLatinin, into, on, upon
+tombGreekburial mound, tomb

The pieces give the image of putting someone into a tomb or burial mound. The figurative sense applies that burial image to someone trapped or enclosed as though buried.

Full entry

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