entrap

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English

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Etymology

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From Middle French entrapper, entraper, from Old French entraper (catch in a trap), equivalent to en- +‎ trap. Compare Middle English bitrappen, from Old English betræppan (to catch in a trap, entrap), from the same West Germanic source (see Modern English betrap).

Pronunciation

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Verb

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entrap (third-person singular simple present entraps, present participle entrapping, simple past and past participle entrapped)

  1. (transitive) To catch in a trap or snare.
    • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. [] The First Part [], 2nd edition, part 1, London: [] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, [], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene ii:
      Then noble ſouldiers to intrap these theeues []
      We haue our Cammels laden al with gold:
      Which you that be but common ſouldiers,
      Shall fling in euery corner of the field:
      And while the baſe borne Tartars take it vp,
      You [] Shall maſſacre those greedie minded ſlaues.
    • 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 189:
      He goes home to complain to his father, and the two of them decide on a plan to entrap Enkidu.
  2. (transitive) To lure (someone), either into a dangerous situation, or into performing an illegal act.

Usage notes

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Entrap is a more intense form of trap: see en-.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Anagrams

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