Decent

How to spell decent

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce decent

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does decent mean?

1. adjectiveOf an acceptable or satisfactory standard; also respectable, proper, or kind.

Decent in a sentence

• The salary was modest but the benefits were decent.

• He is a decent man who always returns what he borrows.

Where does decent come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb decere, which meant 'to be fitting, suitable, or proper'. Its present participle decens (stem decent-) carried the sense of 'becoming' or 'seemly', describing whatever was appropriate to a person's station or to good taste. English picked the word up in the sixteenth century, partly through French, first using it to mean 'fitting' or 'in good taste' before it broadened into the familiar everyday senses of 'respectable', 'adequate', and 'kind'. The same Latin root sits behind 'decorum' and 'decorate', both of which still carry that idea of what is fitting and proper. A useful spelling note: although decent sounds close to 'descent' and 'dissent', it has no inner 's' and no double letter, just dec plus ent.

How the word is built

• dec- (from Latin decere: to be fitting, proper)
• -ent (adjective-forming suffix)