Declaring

How to spell declaring

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce declaring

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does declaring mean?

1. verbStating something openly, formally, or emphatically.

Declaring in a sentence

• The customs officer asked whether she was declaring any goods bought abroad.

• The company issued a statement declaring a record profit for the year.

Where does declaring come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb declarare, which meant to make something thoroughly clear or to reveal it plainly. It was built from the intensifying prefix de- and the verb clarare, meaning to make bright or clear, which in turn came from the adjective clarus, meaning clear, bright, or distinguished. The same clarus root sits inside familiar relatives such as clarity, clarify, and even the name Clara, all of which carry that idea of brightness or plainness. English took the word in through Old French declarer during the fourteenth century, keeping the sense of stating something openly and formally. The present participle declaring simply adds the -ing ending, and the spelling keeps the single l and the -are root visible, which helps explain why the second syllable is spelled with that clear -clar- rather than -clair-.

How the word is built

• de- (thoroughly, intensifier)
• clar (from clarus: clear, bright)
• -are (Latin verb)
• -ing (present participle)