Deepen

How to spell deepen

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce deepen

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does deepen mean?

1. verbTo make or become deeper, more intense, or more profound.

Deepen in a sentence

• The engineers plan to deepen the harbour so larger ships can dock.

• A quiet weekend away can deepen a friendship.

Where does deepen come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word is built from the native English adjective 'deep', which comes from the Old English deop, meaning 'profound, having great extent downward', a word shared with related Germanic tongues such as the Dutch diep and German tief. The verb-forming ending -en was attached to turn the adjective into an action, exactly the same pattern that gives us 'darken', 'widen', 'lengthen' and 'strengthen'. That suffix descends from an old Germanic way of making verbs that mean 'to make or to become' the quality named by the adjective. 'Deepen' itself is recorded from around the late 1500s, replacing older forms where 'deep' alone could serve as a verb. Because the spelling simply stacks 'deep' and '-en', the only real trap is remembering the single 'p' and that there is no doubling before the suffix.

How the word is built

• deep (from Old English deop: deep)
• -en (verb-forming suffix meaning 'to make or become')