enhance

English Online Dictionary. What means enhance‎? What does enhance mean?

English

Alternative forms

• inhance, enhaunce, inhaunce (all obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English enhauncen, anhaunsen, from Anglo-Norman anhauncer (“enhance, raise”), from Vulgar Latin *inaltiāre (“raise”), derived from Latin in + altus (“high”). The /h/ in Old French was taken from haut (“high”), where it resulted from Frankish influence.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈhɑːns/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈhæns/, /ɛnˈhæns/
• Rhymes: -ɑːns, -æns

Verb

enhance (third-person singular simple present enhances, present participle enhancing, simple past and past participle enhanced)

1. (obsolete) To lift, raise up.
3. To augment or make something greater.
4. To improve something by adding features.
5. (intransitive) To be raised up; to grow larger.

6. (radiology) To take up contrast agent (for an organ, tissue, or lesion).

Synonyms

• heighten
• See also Thesaurus:improve

Antonyms

• dehance

Derived terms

Translations

Middle English

Verb

enhance

1. Alternative form of enhauncen