Densities

How to spell densities

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce densities

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does densities mean?

1. nounThe measures of how much mass, matter, or units are packed into a given space or area, considered for more than one thing.

Densities in a sentence

• The report compared the population densities of three neighbouring cities.

• The lab measured the densities of several metals before alloying them.

Where does densities come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is the plural of 'density', which traces back to the Latin adjective densus, meaning 'thick', 'close-packed', or 'crowded'. From densus the Romans formed the noun densitas, describing the quality of being thickly packed together. English took the singular 'density' in the early 1600s, partly through French densite, as scientists needed a precise word for how much matter sits within a given space. The plural form arose naturally once physics and chemistry began comparing many materials and measurements at once. Note the spelling trap that the final 'y' of 'density' turns to 'i' before the '-es' ending, a regular English rule that still trips writers up; the same root survives in the verb 'condense', literally to make thick together.

How the word is built

• dens- (from Latin densus: thick, crowded)
• -ity (noun-forming suffix denoting a quality)
• -es (plural)