Augment

How to spell augment

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce augment

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does augment mean?

1. verbTo make something larger, greater, or more effective by adding to it.

Augment in a sentence

• Many staff take evening shifts to augment their monthly income.

• The firm hired contractors to augment its small permanent team.

Where does augment come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb augere, which meant 'to increase' or 'to make grow', the same root that gave us 'auction' (a sale where the price keeps growing) and 'author' (one who originates or enlarges). From augere came the noun augmentum, meaning 'an increase' or 'a growth', and the late Latin verb augmentare, 'to add to'. English took the word in the late 1300s through Old French augmenter, first as a verb meaning to make something larger or greater. The silent feel of the 'g' before 'm' is a direct hangover from the Latin spelling, which is exactly the trap: the cluster 'gm' is fully written even though the tongue glides over it. The same Latin family also lurks behind 'augur' and the month 'August', once styled the 'grand' or 'increased' month in honour of Augustus.

How the word is built

• aug- (from Latin augere: to increase)
• -ment (originally a noun-result suffix, later carried into the verb)