also enjambement, 1837, from French enjambement or from enjamb (c. 1600), from French enjamber "to stride over," from en- (see en- (1)) + jambe "leg" (see jamb).
Entries linking to enjambment
en- 1
word-forming element meaning "in; into," from French and Old French en-, from Latin in- "in, into" (from PIE root *en "in"). Typically assimilated before -p-, -b-, -m-, -l-, and -r-. Latin in- became en- in French, Spanish, Portuguese, but remained in- in Italian.
Also used with native and imported elements to form verbs from nouns and adjectives, with a sense "put in or on" (encircle), also "cause to be, make into" (endear), and used as an intensive (enclose). Spelling variants in French that were brought over into Middle English account for parallels such as ensure/insure, and most en- words in English had at one time or another a variant in in-, and vice versa.
jamb n.
side-piece of an opening of a door, window, etc., early 14c., from Old French jambe "pier, side post of a door," originally "a leg, shank" (12c.), from Late Latin gamba "leg, (horse's) hock," which is from Greek kampē "a bending," (on notion of the bending of the joint), from verbal stem *kamp- (source also of also Lithuanian kampas "corner," kumpti "to bend," kumpas "curved," and also Germanic words for "lame, mutilated" such as Gothic hamfs "mutilated, lame," Old High German hamf). Beekes considers this a Pre-Greek or other substrate word. The Greek word also was borrowed in Albanian as këmbë "leg, foot."