Word of the Day

: April 5, 2015

enjoin

verb in-JOIN

What It Means

1 : to direct or impose by authoritative order or with urgent admonition

2 a : forbid, prohibit

b : to prohibit by a judicial order : put an injunction on

enjoin in Context

"And yet, to satisfy this good old man, / I would bend under any heavy weight / That he'll enjoin me to." - William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, 1600

"A federal district judge has preliminarily enjoined the White House from moving forward on its unilateral policy, only further emphasizing that this is a job for Congress." - editorial, Houston Chronicle, February 25, 2015

Did You Know?

Which of these words do you think has the same root as enjoin?

• a. endorse    b. joy    c. junta    d. purloin

  It might help if we tell you that enjoin derives ultimately from the Latin verb jungere, which means "to join." Jungere is behind a number of English words, including join, conjoin, disjoin, and junction. Are you ready for your answer? The correct choice is junta, a term that entered English by way of Spanish. A junta is a committee that controls a government, especially after a revolutionary seizure of power-in other words, a group of persons "joined" together for a specific purpose.