different between entwine vs clinch

English

Alternative forms

• (archaic) intwine

Etymology

From en- +? twine (verb).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?n?twa?n/
• (General American) enPR: ?n-tw?n?, IPA^(key): /??n?twa?n/
• Rhymes: -a?n
• Hyphenation: en?twine

Verb

entwine (third-person singular simple present entwines, present participle entwining, simple past and past participle entwined)

1. To twist or twine around something (or one another).

Usage notes

Particularly used in attributive form entwined.

Often used interchangeably with intertwine, with minor usage distinctions. In symmetric sense of two things twining around each other, such as the branches of two trees, narrower intertwine may be preferred, but these are not strictly distinguished. In asymmetric sense of one thing twined in or around another – rather than mutually – such as a vine twined around a tree (but tree not twined around the vine), entwined is preferred.

Synonyms

• (twine around one another): intertwine

Derived terms

• entwinement (noun)
• entwining (noun)
• entwining (adj)

Translations

English

Etymology

16th-century alteration of clench.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kl?nt?/
• Rhymes: -?nt?

Verb

clinch (third-person singular simple present clinches, present participle clinching, simple past and past participle clinched)

1. To clasp; to interlock. [from 1560s]
2. To make certain; to finalize. [from 1716]
3. To fasten securely or permanently.
4. To bend and hammer the point of (a nail) so it cannot be removed. [17th century]
5. To embrace passionately.
6. To hold firmly; to clench.
7. To set closely together; to close tightly.
   • 1731, Jonathan Swift, The Duty of Servants at Inns

     try if the heads of the nails be fast, and whether they be well clinched

Synonyms

• (fasten securely): attach, join, put together; see also Thesaurus:join
• (hold firmly): clasp, grasp, grip; See also Thesaurus:grasp

Translations

Noun

clinch (plural clinches)

1. Any of several fastenings.
2. The act or process of holding fast; that which serves to hold fast; a grip or grasp.

3. (obsolete) A pun.
4. (nautical) A hitch or bend by which a rope is made fast to the ring of an anchor, or the breeching of a ship's gun to the ringbolts.
5. A passionate embrace.
   • 2015, Judith Arnold, Moondance

     More likely, he was letting her know that his visit this morning was not going to end in a clinch—or something steamier. It was going to be about sitting at a table, drinking coffee and talking.

6. In combat sports, the act of one or both fighters holding onto the other to prevent being hit or engage in standup grappling.

Translations

See also

• clinch on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• clench
• clincher
• clinch nut