Word of the Day : July 12, 2021

emprise \em-PRYZE\ noun

Definition

: an adventurous, daring, or chivalric enterprise

Did You Know?

Someone who engages in emprises undertakes much, so it's no surprise that emprise descends from the Anglo-French word emprendre, meaning "to undertake." It's also no surprise that emprise became established in English during the 13th century, a time when brave knights engaged in many a chivalrous undertaking. Fourteenth-century author Geoffrey Chaucer used emprise to describe one such knight in "The Franklin's Tale" (one of the stories in The Canterbury Tales): "Ther was a knyght that loved and dide his payne / To serve a lady in his beste wise; / And many labour, many a greet emprise, / He for his lady wroghte er she were wonne."

Aired July 12, 2021

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