English
enjambment
Enjambment comes from French enjambement.
- Frenchc. 1600–presentenjambement
- Englishtodayenjambment
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Frenchc. 1600–presentenjambement
- Englishtodayenjambment
A compound of en- + jambe ‘leg’ + enjamber ‘to straddle’
Proto-Indo-European *kh₂em- ‘to bend, curve’
Proto-Indo-European *kh₂emp-
Proto-Hellenic *kampā́
Ancient Greek καμπή ‘fixture, bend, winding’
Late Latin gamba ‘(of animals) hock, shank’
Old French jambe ‘leg’
French jambe ‘leg’
Proto-Indo-European *kh₂em- ‘to bend, curve’
Proto-Indo-European *kh₂emp-
Proto-Hellenic *kampā́
Ancient Greek καμπή ‘fixture, bend, winding’
Late Latin gamba ‘(of animals) hock, shank’
Old French jambe ‘leg’
French jambe ‘leg’
French enjamber ‘to straddle’
Every English word from French enjambement
Today it means
noun A technique in poetry whereby a sentence is carried over to the next line without pause.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / French enjambement / enjambment