Inthronize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To place someone on a throne or formally install them as a sovereign or leader
2. To enthrone or establish someone in a position of royal or supreme authority
3. To seat someone upon a throne, thereby conferring or recognizing their rulership

Etymology: "Inthronize" is a Middle English borrowing that traces back to ancient Greek, where "enthronizein" was built from "en," meaning "in," and "thronos," meaning "throne," plus a verb-forming suffix. The Greek verb meant simply to set someone on a throne. Late Latin took it up as "inthronizare," and the word then passed into Old French and Anglo-Norman before reaching English in the Middle English period, when it appeared in several spellings, among them "intronyce" and "entronise." The English word is a close relative of Italian "intronizzare," Spanish "entronizar," and Portuguese "entronizar," all meaning to enthrone. In English, it can be broken down as in- plus throne plus -ize, a combination that makes the verb's construction transparent: it is literally the act of putting someone into the seat of royal power. Enthroning a king or bishop was once a ceremony rather than a figure of speech, which is why the word stayed close to its literal sense.