embryo: The plural of this word is formed by the adding of “s” not “es” as in potatoes.
emerge, immerge: Discriminate carefully between these terms. To emerge is to come out of; issue or proceed from something; to reappear as in a new state; as, “the butterfly emerges from the chrysalis.” To immerge is to plunge into anything, especially a fluid; or to disappear; as, “some heavenly bodies immerge in the light of the sun.”
emigrant, immigrant: These words are to be carefully distinguished with regard, not to the person but to the country from which or to which a person comes. The e = ex, out of; the im = in, into. The emigrant from Ireland is an immigrant when he lands in New York.
eminent, imminent: Discriminate carefully between these words. Eminent means distinguished, prominent, conspicuous. Imminent means impending; threatening.
endorse, indorse: From the Latin in, on, and dorsum, back, means to write or place upon the back of. It is therefore pleonastic to say, as is frequently done, “indorse on the back of.”
The spelling indorse which follows the medieval Latin is that preferred in law and commerce; endorse, a spelling which follows middle English analogy, is the preferred form according to literary usage.
enjoy: A word often misused. Do not say “I enjoy bad health” nor “I enjoy good health,” when you suffer from illness or are in a perfect state of health. One enjoys health (here good is superfluous), but how can one enjoy bad health?
enthuse, said to be of journalistic origin, is characterized as slang by the Standard Dictionary, meaning “manifest enthusiasm or delight.”
enthusiast, fanatic: Discriminate carefully between these words. An enthusiast is one who is ardently zealous in any pursuit; a fanatic is one whose mind is imbued with excessive or extravagant notions on religious subjects.
epithet: Often misused from the mistaken idea that an epithet must necessarily be opprobrious in character or imply opprobrium. An epithet is an adjective or a phrase or word used adjectively to describe some quality or attribute of its object, as in “a benevolent man,” “Father Æneas,” “benevolent” and “father” are epithets.