Apologies

How to spell apologies

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce apologies

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does apologies mean?

1. nounExpressions of regret offered for a fault, mistake, or inconvenience caused to others.

Apologies in a sentence

• She sent her apologies for missing the morning meeting.

• The airline offered apologies to every passenger delayed overnight.

Where does apologies come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word descends from the Greek apologia, which literally meant 'a speech in defence', built from apo, meaning 'off' or 'away', and logos, meaning 'speech' or 'word'. In its earliest sense it described a reasoned argument made to defend oneself against a charge, the very sense preserved in the title of Plato's account of Socrates on trial. The word passed into Latin as apologia and then into English through French in the 1500s, at first still meaning a formal defence or justification. Only later, by the 1700s, did it soften into the everyday meaning of an expression of regret for a fault or offence. The plural 'apologies' keeps the Greek log root that also powers 'logic', 'dialogue' and 'monologue', and the trap for writers is the unstressed middle vowel that swallows the spelling and the -ies ending that quietly replaces the singular -y.

How the word is built

• apo- (off, away)
• log (speech, word)
• -y (noun-forming suffix)
• -ies (plural ending replacing -y)