Communicating

How to spell communicating

13 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce communicating

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does communicating mean?

1. verbSharing or exchanging information, ideas, or feelings with others.
2. verbBeing connected or linked so that passage between things is possible.

Communicating in a sentence

• The manager spent the meeting communicating the new safety rules to her team.

• The suite had two communicating rooms joined by an internal door.

• Poor signal made communicating with the office almost impossible during the storm.

• A narrow corridor communicating the two wings of the hospital was closed for repairs.

Where does communicating come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb communicare, meaning 'to share' or 'to make common', which was built on the adjective communis, meaning 'common' or 'shared by all'. At the heart of communis sits the root munus, which described a public duty, an obligation, or a gift exchanged between people, so the original idea was very much about something held or passed between members of a group. English took the verb 'communicate' in the sixteenth century, at first in senses close to 'to share' or 'to impart', and the modern emphasis on exchanging information and ideas grew naturally out of that. The same munus root surfaces in relatives like 'community', 'common', and 'municipal', all carrying that flavour of things shared. The present participle 'communicating' keeps the doubled 'm' from communis and the awkward 'mun' middle syllable that swallows into a schwa, which is exactly where careful spellers slow down.

How the word is built

• com- (together)
• mun (from munus: duty, gift, shared)
• -ic
• -ate (verb)
• -ing (present participle)