different between thicken vs engross

English

Etymology

From Middle English thickenen, thikkenen, equivalent to thick +? -en. Cognate with Swedish tjockna (“to thicken”), Icelandic þykkna (“to thicken”).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /???k?n/
• Rhymes: -?k?n

Verb

thicken (third-person singular simple present thickens, present participle thickening, simple past and past participle thickened)

1. (transitive) To make thicker (in the sense of wider).
2. (transitive) To make thicker (in the sense of more viscous).

3. (intransitive) To become thicker (in the sense of wider).
4. (intransitive) To become thicker (in the sense of more viscous).
5. (transitive) To strengthen; to confirm.
6. (transitive) To make more frequent.

Synonyms

• (make wider): broaden, enwiden; see also Thesaurus:widen
• (make more viscous): condense, engross, inspissate; see also Thesaurus:thicken
• (become wider): widen
• (become more viscous): inspissate
• (strengthen): build up, reinforce; see also Thesaurus:strengthen
• (make more frequent):

Related terms

• thickener
• the plot thickens

Translations

Anagrams

• Chetnik, Kitchen, chetnik, ethnick, kitchen

English

Etymology

From Middle English engrossen, from Anglo-Norman engrosser (“to gather in large quantities, draft something in final form”); partly from the phrase en gros (“in bulk, in quantity, at wholesale”), from en- + gros; and partly from Medieval Latin ingross? (“thicken, write something large and in bold lettering”, v.), from in- + grossus (“great, big, thick”), from Old High German gr?z (“big, thick, coarse”), from Proto-West Germanic *graut, from Proto-Germanic *grautaz (“large, great, thick, coarse grained, unrefined”), from Proto-Indo-European *ghrew?- (“to fell, put down, fall in”). More at in-, gross.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?n?????s/, /???????s/, /?n?????s/, /???????s/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?n?????s/, /???????s/, /?n???o?s/, /?????o?s/
• Rhymes: -??s

Verb

engross (third-person singular simple present engrosses, present participle engrossing, simple past and past participle engrossed)

2. (transitive, now law) To write (a document) in large, aesthetic, and legible lettering; to make a finalized copy of.

   Coordinate term: longhand

   • 1846, Thomas De Quincey, “On Christianity, as an Organ of Political Movement”, in Tait’s Edinburgh Magazine:

     laws that may be engrossed upon a finger nail

3. (transitive, business, obsolete) To buy up wholesale, especially to buy the whole supply of (a commodity etc.).

   Synonym: corner the market

4. (transitive) To monopolize; to concentrate (something) in the single possession of someone, especially unfairly.
5. (transitive) To completely engage the attention of.
6. (transitive, obsolete) To thicken; to condense.

   Synonyms: inspissate; see also Thesaurus:thicken
7. (transitive, obsolete) To make gross, thick, or large; to thicken; to increase in bulk or quantity.
8. (obsolete) To amass.

   Synonyms: amound, hoard; see also Thesaurus:amass

Derived terms

• engrossing

Related terms

• gross

Translations

Further reading

• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “engross”, in Online Etymology Dictionary
• engrossing (law) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Gersons, Gonsers, Songers, grossen, songers