Assembly

How to spell assembly

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce assembly

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does assembly mean?

1. nounA group of people gathered together in one place for a shared purpose.
2. nounAn official body of elected representatives that makes laws or decisions.
3. nounThe process of fitting component parts together to make a finished product.

Assembly in a sentence

• The whole school filed into the hall for morning assembly.

• The national assembly voted to raise the minimum wage.

• The factory moved final assembly of the engines to a new plant.

• A peaceful assembly formed outside the town hall to mark the anniversary.

• Each region elects members to the regional assembly every four years.

• The flat-pack desk comes with clear instructions for assembly.

Where does assembly come from?

Language of origin: French

This word reaches English through Old French assemblee, the past participle of the verb assembler, which meant 'to bring or come together'. That French verb grew out of the Latin assimulare, formed from ad, meaning 'to', and simul, meaning 'together' or 'at the same time'. The same simul root underlies a family of familiar words such as 'simultaneous', 'similar' and even 'assemble' itself, all carrying the idea of things placed side by side. English adopted assembly in the 1300s, first for a gathering of people and later for any deliberative body or the act of fitting parts together. The doubled s is the lasting fingerprint of that Latin ad- prefix bumping up against the s of simul, and remembering 'ad + s' is a handy way to keep both consonants in place.

How the word is built

• as- (variant of ad-: to, together)
• -sembl- (from Latin simul: together)
• -y (noun-forming suffix)