ensconce

From en- +‎ sconce, “to place in a sconce (“fortification”)”.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɛnˈskɒns/
• (US) enPR: ĭn-skäns', IPA^(key): /ɛnˈskɑns/

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• Rhymes: -ɒns, -ɑns

ensconce (third-person singular simple present ensconces, present participle ensconcing, simple past and past participle ensconced)

1. (transitive) To place in a secure environment.
   • 1876, Mark Twain, chapter IX, in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer:

     They found the sharp new heap they were seeking, and ensconced themselves within the protection of three great elms that grew in a bunch within a few feet of the grave.

   • 2014 January 21, Hermione Hoby, “Julia Roberts interview for August: Osage County – 'I might actually go to hell for this ...': Julia Roberts reveals why her violent, Oscar-nominated performance in August: Osage County made her feel 'like a terrible person' [print version: 'I might actually go to hell for this ...' (18 January 2014, p. R4)]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Review)‎:

     The film grossed $464 million worldwide, ensconcing her in the Hollywood A-list.

2. (intransitive) To settle comfortably.
   • 1945 August 17, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter 1, in Animal Farm: A Fairy Story, London: Secker & Warburg, OCLC 3655473:

     […] Major was already ensconced on his bed of straw, under a lantern which hung from a beam.

Particularly used in form ensconced, as in “she was ensconced in an armchair.”

• (settle comfortably): cuddle up

• ensconce in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• ensconce in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• “ensconce” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2019.