What does enchased mean?
To enchase something is to set it firmly within a decorative mounting — most often a gemstone fixed into a metal setting — or, by extension, to ornament a surface with engraved or chased designs. The word belongs to the vocabulary of fine metalwork: medieval goldsmiths enchased reliquaries, enamellists enchased medallions, and antique dealers still describe sword hilts and snuffboxes as enchased with silver or gold. It carries connotations of craftsmanship, richness, and antiquity, which is why it survives mainly in art-historical, heraldic, and literary contexts rather than everyday conversation. Related to the more familiar verb 'chase', which describes working a design into metal with hammer and tools, 'enchase' adds the sense of enclosure within a frame or setting. A reader encountering it today will usually find it describing ornate, hand-wrought objects whose beauty depends on precisely this marriage of stone and metal.
verb(Past tense and past participle of 'enchase') To set or fix (a gem, ornament, etc.) in a setting or mounting; to decorate an object by engraving or chasing designs into its surface.
- To set a gem or ornament securely in a surrounding mount or framework.
- To adorn a metal object by engraving or chasing ornamental patterns into it.
"The jeweller enchased the sapphire in a band of hammered gold."
"The dagger's hilt was enchased with filigrees of silver and lapis lazuli."
"Medieval goldsmiths enchased reliquaries so densely with jewels that little bare metal remained visible."
Before 'set' took over the jewellery trade, English speakers said gems were 'enchased' — a word that shares an ancient ancestor with your wallet's cash and your car's chassis.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of enchased
'Enchase' entered English in the late Middle Ages from Old French 'enchasser', formed from 'en-' ('in') plus 'chasse' meaning a box or casing. That noun descends from the Latin 'capsa', a container — the same root that gives English 'case', 'capsule', and 'cash'. The related metalworking verb 'chase', for engraving or ornamenting metal, came through a parallel French route, making the two words close cousins rather than one deriving from the other.
Related word forms
How enchased is actually used
A formal, largely literary term found chiefly in art history, antique description, and heraldic or poetic writing; in ordinary modern speech, 'set' or 'inlaid' is preferred.
Easily confused with enchased
'Engraved' means cutting lines into a surface to form a design, while 'enchased' more specifically means setting a gem or ornament into a mounting, though it can also cover decorative chasing of metalwork.