• embrangle •
Pronunciation: im-bræng-êl • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: To embroil, entangle, confuse.
Notes: Today's is a rarely used word, no doubt, because there are several more commonly used words for the same meanings. It is also rather aged. It comes with an antonym, disembrangle, and a Latinate noun, embranglement.
In Play: This word is only used for abstract entanglements, not the kind we frequently find strings and cords in: "Susan Liddy-Gates's closing argument embrangled her current case with a previous similar one." Various parts of our lives may become embrangled: "The property was so embrangled in unpaid taxes, legal quagmires, and questionable boundaries that Sally decided not to buy it."
Word History: The most widely accepted etymology is that is derived from ancient brangle "to shake", a remake of French branler "to jerk", but this explanation is compromised semantically (how does "jerk" get to "entangle") and phonologically (how does [n] become [ng]?) I think today's Good Word is a portmanteau word, a blend of embroil and tangle. If true, embroil was borrowed from French embrouiller "to mix, muddle, confuse", comprising en- "in" + brouiller "to mix up, confuse" from PIE bhreu-/bhrou- "to boil, bubble". Apparently, the French word is a borrowing from some Germanic language since Latin converted the PIE word to fervere "to boil" and Greek to phrear "a spring, well". Among other IE languages we find Russian bryzgat' "to splash, sprinkle", Polish bryzg "a splash, splatter", Serbian prskati "to splatter", German brauen "to brew", Dutch brouwen "to brew" and English brew. (Now a triple dose of gratitude to Great Grand Panjandrum Jeremy Busch for serving as Agora manager, GW editor, and master contributor for reminding us that Grogie suggested this great Good Word back in 2007.)
P.S. - Register for the Daily Good Word E-Mail! - You can get our daily Good Word sent directly to you via e-mail in either HTML or Text format. Go to our Registration Page to sign up today!
