Arranging

How to spell arranging

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce arranging

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does arranging mean?

1. verbPutting things into a deliberate order, or organising and planning something in advance.

Arranging in a sentence

• She spent the morning arranging the files by date.

• The assistant is arranging the meeting for next Tuesday.

Where does arranging come from?

Language of origin: French

This word descends from the Old French verb arengier, later arranger, meaning 'to put in a row' or 'to set in order'. It was built from the prefix a-, from Latin ad meaning 'to' or 'towards', combined with renc or rang, the Frankish-derived word for a line or row of people, the same root that gives us the English word 'rank'. English borrowed it in the form 'arrange' fairly late, around the late 1400s, originally in the literal sense of drawing soldiers up into ranks for battle. Over the following centuries the meaning broadened from physically lining things up to the more general idea of organising matters, making plans, or settling things in advance. The form 'arranging' is simply the present participle and gerund, and its spelling trap is the doubled r at the start, inherited from the assimilated ad- prefix, plus the loss of the silent e from 'arrange' before the -ing ending.

How the word is built

• ar- (variant of ad-: to, towards)
• range (from Old French renc/rang: a line or row)
• -ing (present participle/gerund)