[Lexicog] embiggen

[John Roberts]

Yes, it is 'em-' and not 'en-' because of the [b]. You also get 'em-' before [m] and [p], e.g. emmarble and emmesh (but also enmesh), and empanel and empacket. But not before [f] or [v], e.g. enfeeble, enforce and envenom, envision. Here it is 'en-'. So it is a phonological rule to have 'em-' before a bilabial consonant.

My affix dictionary says 'em-' is derived through French from Latin 'im-' and is a combining form of 'in' 'in, into'. It says in English it is often used as an intensifier or as a marker of transitivity. But from the words I have seen that have this prefix it seems to me it means 'to make'. E.g.

embank = 'to make banked'
embase ~ imbast = 'to debase'
embattle = 'to arrange for battle'
embed ~ imbed = 'to make like a bed'
embitter ~ imbitter = 'to make bitter'
embolden = 'to make bold'
embrown ~ imbrown = 'to make brown'
embusy = 'to make busy'

embiggen = 'to make bigger'

According to my dictionaries many 'em-' words are Shakespearean or Spenserian in origin. So Homer Simpson is not the first to coin new words with 'em-' -- and probably won't be the last.

John Roberts

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John R Roberts
SIL International Linguistics Consultant
dr_john_roberts at sil.org
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