Convey

How to spell convey

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce convey

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does convey mean?

1. verbTo make an idea, feeling, or piece of information known to someone.
2. verbTo carry or transport someone or something from one place to another.

Convey in a sentence

• A good report should convey the findings in plain language.

• A fleet of vans will convey the parcels to the depot overnight.

• She chose her words carefully to convey how grateful she felt.

• The pipeline can convey water across the entire valley.

Where does convey come from?

Language of origin: French

Convey comes from the Old French verb conveier (also spelled conveer), which meant to escort or accompany someone on a journey. That French word traces back to the Latin conviare, formed from com- meaning 'together' and via meaning 'way' or 'road', so the literal idea was of travelling along the road together. English took the word in the 1300s, at first with the concrete sense of carrying or escorting something from one place to another. Over time it broadened so that you could convey not just goods or people but also ideas, feelings, and information, as if carrying a message along a route to the listener. The hidden via root explains the spelling trap: the ending sounds like 'ay' but is written -vey, echoing the old 'way' it once described, and the same via still appears in words such as 'voyage' and 'deviate'.

How the word is built

• con- (together, with)
• vey (from Latin via: way, road)