ensconceとは 意味・読み方・使い方

語源

From en- +‎ sconce, “to place in a sconce (“fortification”)”.

発音

• (英国発音) IPA: /ɛnˈskɒns/
• (米国発音) enPR: ĭn-skäns', IPA: /ɛnˈskɑns/
• 韻: -ɒns

動詞

ensconce (third-person singular simple present ensconces, present participle ensconcing, simple past and past participle ensconced)

1. (transitive) To place in a secure environment.
   • c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]:

     She shall not see me, I will ensconce mee behinde the Arras.

   • 1876, Mark Twain, chapter IX, in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer:

     They found the sharp new heap they were seeking, and ensconced themselves within the protection of three great elms that grew in a bunch within a few feet of the grave.

   • 2014 January 21, Hermione Hoby, “Julia Roberts interview for August: Osage County – ‘I might actually go to hell for this…’”, in The Daily Telegraph (Review section)‎, London: Telegraph Media Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 7 October 2024:

     The film [Pretty Woman] grossed $464 million worldwide, ensconcing her [Julia Roberts] in the Hollywood A-list.

2. (intransitive or transitive) To settle comfortably.
   • 1941 June, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, pages 261, 263:

     So many invitations had been extended to this premiére that the train was pretty nearly full; [...] the press and other guests distributed themselves over the remaining accommodation, and I ensconced myself in a facing window seat in one of the compartments of the third-class brake next the tender.

   • 1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC:

     […] Major was already ensconced on his bed of straw, under a lantern which hung from a beam.

使用する際の注意点

• Particularly used in the form ensconced, as in “she was ensconced in an armchair.”

同意語

• (settle comfortably): cuddle up

派生語

Further reading

• “ensconce”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “ensconce”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2025), “ensconce”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
• “ensconce”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.