to gird or encompass with or as with a belt or girdle
A ring of hills encinctures the town
Word origin
[1805–15; en-1 + cincture]This word is first recorded in the period 1805–15. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: Indo-European, backlash, diminishing returns, one-sided, souffléen- is a prefix occurring originally in loanwords from French and productive in Englishon this model, forming verbs with the general sense “to cause (a person or thing)to be in” the place, condition, or state named by the stem; more specifically, “toconfine in or place on” (enshrine; enthrone; entomb); “to cause to be in” (enslave; entrust; enrich; encourage; endear); “to restrict” in the manner named by the stem, typically with the additional sense“on all sides, completely” (enwind; encircle; enclose; entwine). This prefix is also attached to verbs in order to make them transitive, or to givethem a transitive marker if they are already transitive (enkindle; enliven; enshield; enface)