Engage \En*gage"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Engaged; p. pr. & vb. n. Engaging.]

[F. engager; pref. en- (L. in) + gage pledge, pawn. See Gage.]

1. To put under pledge; to pledge; to place under obligations to do or forbear doing something, as by a pledge, oath, or promise; to bind by contract or promise. ``I to thee engaged a prince's word.'' --Shak.

2. To gain for service; to bring in as associate or aid; to enlist; as, to engage friends to aid in a cause; to engage men for service.

3. To gain over; to win and attach; to attract and hold; to draw.

Good nature engages everybody to him. --Addison.

4. To employ the attention and efforts of; to occupy; to engross; to draw on.

Thus shall mankind his guardian care engage. --Pope.

Taking upon himself the difficult task of engaging him in conversation. --Hawthorne.

5. To enter into contest with; to encounter; to bring to conflict.

A favorable opportunity of engaging the enemy. --Ludlow.

6. (Mach.) To come into gear with; as, the teeth of one cogwheel engage those of another, or one part of a clutch engages the other part.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

Engaging \En*ga"ging\, a. Tending to draw the attention or affections; attractive; as, engaging manners or address. -- En*ga"ging*ly, adv. -- En*ga"ging*ness, n.

Engaging and disengaging gear or machinery, that in which, or by means of which, one part is alternately brought into gear or out of gear with another part, as occasion may require.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

Encage \En*cage"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Encaged; p. pr. & vb. n. Engaging.]

[Pref. en- + cage: cf. F. encager.]

To confine in a cage; to coop up. --Shak.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)