enchesoun

== Middle English == === Alternative forms === enchaison, encheson, enchesun, encheyson enchesoune, enchesown, enchesowne, incheson, inchessoun (Late Middle English) === Etymology === Borrowed from Anglo-Norman enchaisun, enchoison, alteration of achaisun, achoison (see achesoun, chesoun) after the prefix en-. By surface analysis, en- +‎ chesoun (“cause, reason”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ɛnt͡ʃɛːˈzuːn/, /ɛnˈt͡ʃɛːzun/ === Noun === enchesoun (plural enchesouns) (chiefly Late Middle English) A motivation, reason, or justification: late 1300s, Geoffrey Chaucer, ‘The Squire’s Tale’, Canterbury Tales: A justification for a charge or condemnation. (rare) An excuse or opportunity. A cause; the source of an effect. (rare) An occasion or instantiation. ==== Synonyms ==== chesoun (in most senses) ==== Descendants ==== English: encheason (obsolete) Middle Scots: enchesoun, enchessoun ==== References ==== “enchēsǒun, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.