Contemplation

How to spell contemplation

13 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce contemplation

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does contemplation mean?

1. nounThe act of thinking deeply and quietly about something, or considering a course of action.

Contemplation in a sentence

• After weeks of contemplation, she finally accepted the new job offer.

• The retreat gave him time for contemplation away from the noise of the office.

Where does contemplation come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb contemplari, meaning 'to gaze at attentively' or 'to observe carefully'. It was built from the prefix con-, used here as an intensifier meaning 'thoroughly', and templum, which originally named a space that an augur marked out in the sky or on the ground for watching the flight of birds and reading omens. That same templum gives us the English word 'temple', a sacred space set apart, so the literal idea behind contemplation is fixing your attention on a marked-off space. English took the noun in through Old French contemplacion in the 1200s, at first with strong religious overtones of devout meditation before its sense broadened to ordinary thoughtful reflection. The spelling stays close to the Latin throughout, which helps explain the steady 'templ' in the middle that some writers garble.

How the word is built

• con- (intensive, thoroughly)
• templ (from templum: a space marked out for observation)
• -ation (noun-forming suffix)