Word: involve Part of Speech: verb Etymology: PIE word *h₁én From Late Middle English involven (“to cloud; to encumber; to envelop, surround; to ponder (something); (reflexive) to concern (oneself) with something”) [and other forms], borrowed from Old French involver, envoudre, or from its etymon Latin involvere, the present active infinitive of Latin involvō (“to roll to or upon something; to roll about; to coil or curl up; to cover; to envelop, wrap up; to overwhelm”), from in- (prefix meaning ‘in, inside, within’) + volvō (“to roll; to tumble”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *welH- (“to turn; to wind (turn coils)”)). Pronunciation: /ɪnˈvɒlv/, /ɪnˈvɔlv/, /ɪnˈvoːv/, /ɪnˈvɑlv/ 1. To have (something) as a component or a related part; to comprise, to include. Labels: transitive Example: My job involves forecasting economic trends. Example: But there remaineth yet another vſe of POESY PARABOLICAL, […] That is vvhen the Secrets and Miſteries of Religion, Pollicy, or Philoſophy, are inuolued in Fables or Parables. Of this in diuine Poeſie, vvee ſee the vſe is authoriſed. 2. To have (something) as a component or a related part; to comprise, to include. Labels: specifically, transitive Example: Many conceive there is ſomevvhat amiſſe, and that as vve uſually ſay, they are unbleſt untill they put on their girdle: vvherein (although moſt knovv not vvhat they ſay) there are involved unknovvne conſiderations; for by a girdle or cincture are ſymbolically implied Truth, Reſolution and Readineſſe unto Action, […] Example: [A]t the making of this Covenant, God ſpake onely to Abraham; and therefore contracted not vvith any of his family, or ſeed, othervviſe then as their vvills (vvhich make the eſſence of all Covenants) vvere before the Contract involved in the vvill of Abraham; vvho vvas ſuppoſed to have had a lavvfull povver, to make them perform all that he covenanted for them. 3. To cause or engage (someone or something) to become connected or implicated, or to participate, in some activity or situation. Labels: transitive Example: By involving herself in her local community, Mary met lots of people and also helped make it a nicer place to live. Example: How can we involve the audience more during the show? 4. To cause or engage (someone or something) to become connected or implicated, or to participate, in some activity or situation. Labels: also, reflexive, specifically, transitive 5. To entangle, intertwine, or mingle (something with one or more other things, or several things together); especially, to entangle (someone or something) in a confusing or troublesome situation. Labels: figuratively, transitive Example: to involve a person in debt or misery Example: Also that reuerende studie [of law] is inuolued in so barbarouse a langage, that it is nat only voyde of all eloquence, but also beynge seperate from the exercise of our lawe onely, it serueth to no commoditie or necessary purpose, no man understandyng it but they whiche haue studyed the lawes. 6. To cover or envelop (something) completely; to hide, to surround. Labels: archaic, transitive Example: to involve in darkness or obscurity Example: [T]he vviſe mans eyes keepe vvatch in his head vvhereas the foole roundeth about in darkneſſe: but vvithall I learned that the ſame mortalitie inuolueth them both. 7. To form (something) into a coil or spiral, or into folds; to entwine, to fold up, to roll, to wind round. Labels: archaic, transitive Example: VVe muſt be ſtiffe and ſteddie in reſolue. / Let's thus our hands, our hearts, our armes inuolue. Example: [S]ome of Serpent kinde / Wondrous in length and corpulence involv'd / Thir Snakie foulds, and added wings. 8. To make (something) intricate; to complicate. Labels: archaic, obsolete, transitive Example: And as wililye as thoſe ſhrewes that beguyle hym haue holpe hym to inuolue and intryke the matter: I ſhall vſe ſo playn and open a way therin, that euery man ſhall well ſee the trouth. Example: [H]e ſeemed rather vvilling to diſpatch the buſines vvith judgement, then to involue it vvith nice diſtinctions. 9. To multiply (a number) by itself a given number of times; to raise to any assigned power. Labels: archaic, obsolete, transitive Example: a quantity involved to the third or fourth power Example: Subtract the power from the given quantity, and divide the first term of the remainder, by the first term of the root involved to the next inferiour power, and multiplied by the index of the given power; the quotient will be the next term of the root.