inscape

Pronounced: IN-scape, noun

Notes: I know escape, but not this word

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Yesterday’s word

The word envisage means

• to view or regard in a certain way
• to have a mental picture of (especially in advance of realization)

First usage

The word first showed up in the 1600s

Background / Comments

This word comes from French envisager. After showing up in English, it acquired a now archaic meaning in the early 1800s of “to meet squarely” to “to confront”. By the mid-1800s, it had the idea of “to have a mental picture of”. Then, in the 1920s, the word fell out of favor; commentators derided the word and said its usage was undesirable. However, it is accepted today and is widely used, although it is somewhat formal. It is pretty much interchangeable with the word envision.