embiggen
/ɪmˈbɪɡən//ɛmˈbɪɡən/
构词拆解
- em-
- The form taken by en- before the labial consonants b and p, as it assimilates place of articulation.
词源说明
From em- + biggen or big + em- -en, possibly analogous to belittle. The morphology parallels that of enlarge (en- + large) or embolden (em- + bold + -en).
The verb's first recorded use is in an 1884 edition of the British journal Notes and Queries: A Medium of Intercommunication for Literary Men, General Readers, Etc. by C. A. Ward (see quotation below).