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Webster 1913 Edition

Enjoin

En-join′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Enjoined
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Enjoining
.]
[F.
enjoindre
, L.
injungere
to join into, charge, enjoin;
in + jungere
to join. See
Join
, and cf.
Injunction
.]
1.
To lay upon, as an order or command; to give an injunction to; to direct with authority; to order; to charge.
High matter thou
enjoin’st
me.
Milton.
I am
enjoined
by oath to observe three things.
Shakespeare
2.
(Law)
To prohibit or restrain by a judicial order or decree; to put an injunction on.
This is a suit to
enjoin
the defendants from disturbing the plaintiffs.
Kent.
☞ Enjoin has the force of pressing admonition with authority; as, a parent enjoins on his children the duty of obedience. But it has also the sense of command; as, the duties enjoined by God in the moral law. “This word is more authoritative than direct, and less imperious than command.”
Johnson.

En-join′

,
Verb.
T.
To join or unite.
[Obs.]
Hooker.

Webster 1828 Edition

Enjoin

ENJOIN'

,
Verb.
T.
[L. injungo. See Join. We observe that the primary sense of join is to set, extend or lay to, to throw to or on; otherwise the sense of order or command could not spring from it.To enjoin is to set or lay to or on.]
1.
To order or direct with urgency; to admonish or instruct with authority; to command. Says Johnson, 'this word is more authoritative than direct, and less imperious than command.' It has the force of pressing admonition with authority; as, a parent enjoins on his children the duty of obedience. But it has also the sense of command; as the duties enjoined by God in the moral law.
2.
In law, to forbid judicially; to issue or direct a legal injunction to stop proceedings.
This is a suit to enjoin the defendants from disturbing the plaintiffs.

Definition 2024

enjoin

enjoin

English

Verb

enjoin ‎(third-person singular simple present enjoins, present participle enjoining, simple past and past participle enjoined)

  1. (transitive, chiefly literary) To lay upon, as an order or command; to give an injunction to; to direct with authority; to order; to charge.
    • 1596, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act II, Scene 9
      I am enjoin'd by oath to observe three things:
    • 1611, King James Bible - Esther 9:31,
      to confirm these days of Purim in their times appointed, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them […]
    • 1934, George Orwell, Burmese Days, Chapter 14,
      At some landmark in the jungle the beater halted, pointed to the ground as a sign that this spot would do, and put his finger on his lips to enjoin silence.
  2. (transitive, law) To prohibit or restrain by a judicial order or decree; to put an injunction on.
    • 1989, Western Oregon Program—Management of Competing Vegetation: Proposed Record of Decision, U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Chapter 1, p. 9,
      In 1983, BLM was enjoined by court order from using any herbicides in its Medford, Oregon District. Subsequent court action in 1984 enjoined BLM from the use of herbicides throughout Oregon and the U.S. Forest Service was similarly enjoined throughout Region 6 (Pacific Northwest).
    • Kent
      This is a suit to enjoin the defendants from disturbing the plaintiffs.

Related terms

Translations

References

  • enjoin in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
  • “enjoin” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (2001).
  • enjoin in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Etymology

From Old French enjoindre ‎(“to join with”), from Latin iniungo ‎(“to attach”), a compound of in- ‎(“into” “upon”) and iungo.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɛnˈdʒɔɪn/
  • Rhymes: -ɔɪn

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