entrust
Meaning
to make someone responsible for someone or something
to give someone a duty or responsibility, especially a legal or financial one
Structure
Usage
i entrusted my neighbor with watering my plants while i was on vacation.
the company's finances are entrusted to a highly experienced chief financial officer.
she entrusted the secret to her closest friend, knowing it would be safe.
Etymology
the word 'entrust' is a compound formed within english during the late middle english period. it combines the prefix 'en-', derived from latin, which imparts a sense of "putting into" or "causing to be in a state," with the core germanic noun 'trust', meaning firm belief or confidence. the literal construction "to put into trust" evolved into the modern abstract meaning of assigning responsibility or care to someone based on that confidence. this semantic shift reflects a movement from the concrete state of being in a condition of trust to the active act of conferring authority or duty.
Analysis
en- (from latin in-, meaning "in, into, cause to be"), trust (from old norse traust, meaning "confidence, protection, firmness")