Embarque

/ɛmˈbɑːrk/ verb

Definition

An archaic or French spelling variant of embark; to board a vessel or begin an undertaking.

Etymology

From French 'embarquer' (to embark). This represents an earlier English spelling that retained more of the original French form, common before English standardized its spelling in the 18th-19th centuries.

Kelly Says

Old texts contain spellings like 'embarque' and 'embark' used interchangeably, which is fascinating because it shows English borrowing words and gradually anglicizing them—we dropped the 'ue' ending as English absorbed the French term.

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