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Enhance Has Latin Roots
When enhance was borrowed into English in the 13th century, it literally meant to raise something higher. That sense, though now obsolete, provides a clue about the origins of the word. Enhance, which was spelled enhauncen in Middle English, comes to us from Anglo-French enhaucer or enhauncer ("to raise"), which can be traced back to the Latin altus ("high") by way of an assumed Vulgar Latin verb inaltiare, which would have been formed by combining the prefix in- with the Latin altus. Although enhance initially applied only to physically making things higher, it developed an additional and less literal sense of "to exalt especially in rank or spirit," and quickly acquired extended figurative senses for raising the value or attractiveness of something or someone.
Examples of enhance in a Sentence
Ca Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 23 Aug. 2025
His ongoing mission is to elevate public safety and rescue operations, using technology to enhance how communities respond to the needs of their most vulnerable citizens.
—Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 23 Aug. 2025
Several parks also host special events that offer exclusive ride days for annual passholders where lines are shorter and experiences are enhanced.
—Roger Sands, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Israel could tinker with reality, annex parts of the occupied territories and withdraw from others, and grant Palestinians enhanced measures of autonomy and self-governance and better economic opportunities, all without blunting the Jewish state’s over-all control.
—Hussein Agha, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for enhance
Cite this Entry
“Enhance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enhance. Accessed 29 Aug. 2025.
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enhance
verb
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