v. Also 7 inclasp (inclaps). [f. EN-1 + CLASP sb. and v.] trans. To hold in or as in a clasp or embrace; to clasp tightly; also fig. Hence Enclasping ppl. a.
1596. Fitz-Geffrey, Sir F. Drake (1881), 14. Enclaspeth with her winged eminence The worlds orbicular circumference.
1607. Topsell, Four-f. Beasts, 134. You are inclasped in vnauoidable and inextricable nets.
a. 1618. J. Davies, Bien Venu, Wks. (1876), 5 (D.). O Union, that enclaspest in thyne armes All that in Heau’n and Earth is great or good.
1647. Cudworth, Serm. 1 John ii. 3–4 (1676), 65. He … inclaspeth the whole world within his outstretched arms.
1783. Lemon, Eng. Etymol., Pref. p. i (Jod.). Why do the ivy and eglantine so eagerly enclasp their oak?
1834. Disraeli, Rev. Epick, I. xlix. 83. Thy fond hand Still I enclasp.
1848. H. Miller, First Impr., v. (1857), 81. Grey lichened rocks, enclasped by sprigs of ivy.
1877. M. Arnold, Poems, II. 17. The islands feel the enclasping flow.
