ENTHUSE

verb (~d; enthusing) Etymology: back-formation from enthusiasm Date: 1827 transitive verb to make enthusiastic , to express with enthusiasm, intransitive verb to show enthusiasm , Usage: Enthuse is apparently American in origin, although the earliest known example of its use occurs in a letter written in 1827 by a young Scotsman who spent about two years in the Pacific Northwest. It has been disapproved since about 1870. Current evidence shows it to be flourishing nonetheless on both sides of the Atlantic especially in journalistic prose.