'enshrine' originates from English, formed from the prefix 'en-' (from Old French 'en-/em-', ultimately from Latin 'in-') and the noun 'shrine' (from Old English 'scrīn', from Latin 'scrīnium'), where 'en-' meant 'to put into' and 'scrīn/shrine' meant 'a receptacle or sacred container'.

'scrīn' in Old English came from Latin 'scrīnium' meaning 'box' or 'case'; Middle English developed 'shrine' as 'a holy receptacle', and Modern English formed the verb 'enshrine' by adding the prefix 'en-' to 'shrine' to mean 'to place in a shrine' and later 'to preserve or make sacred'.

Initially, it meant 'to place into a shrine' (literal sense), but over time it evolved into broader senses of 'to preserve, cherish, or establish as sacred or protected', including figurative uses such as 'enshrined in law'.