enserchen

Middle English

Alternative forms

• enserche, enserge, encherch, inserche, encerche, enseerchen, enserchun

Etymology

From Old French encerchier; equivalent to en- +‎ serche +‎ -en (infinitival suffix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛnˈsɛːrt͡ʃən/, /ɛnˈsɛrt͡ʃən/

Verb

enserchen

1. To search or seek, to try to find; to scour; to attempt to attain.
   1. To scrutinise oneself; to perform introspection.
   2. To attempt to unveil or reveal a malfeasance or wrong.
   3. (Late Middle English) To comb through texts; to research or seek information.
   4. (rare) To scrutinise; to look at intently or in-depth.
   5. (Late Middle English, rare) To look at that which is off-limits; to disturb.
2. (Late Middle English) To acquire knowledge or information; to make a discovery.
3. (Late Middle English, rare) To check, inspect or verify; to evaluate the certitude of something.
4. (Late Middle English, rare) To question.

Conjugation

Conjugation of enserchen (weak in -ed)

infinitive	(to) enserchen, enserche
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	enserche	enserched
2nd-person singular	enserchest	enserchedest
3rd-person singular	ensercheth	enserched
subjunctive singular	enserche
imperative singular		—
plural1	enserchen, enserche	ensercheden, enserchede
imperative plural	ensercheth, enserche	—
participles	enserchynge, enserchende	enserched, yenserched

¹Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Related terms

• enserche
• ensercher
• enserching

Descendants

• English: ensearch

References

• “enserchen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-07-10.