Depreciation

How to spell depreciation

12 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce depreciation

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does depreciation mean?

1. nounA reduction in the value or worth of something over time.
2. nounThe accounting method of spreading the cost of an asset across its useful life.

Depreciation in a sentence

• The sharp depreciation of the currency made imported goods far more expensive.

• The company claimed depreciation on its machinery to reduce its taxable profit.

• Buyers worry about the rapid depreciation of a new car the moment it leaves the showroom.

• The accountant calculated annual depreciation on the office computers over five years.

Where does depreciation come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb depretiare, later spelled depreciare, which meant 'to lower the price of' or 'to undervalue'. It was built from de-, meaning 'down', and pretium, the Latin word for 'price' or 'worth', the same root that gives us 'price', 'precious', and 'appreciate'. English took it in through French in the seventeenth century, at first in the broad sense of belittling or running something down in esteem. The modern financial meaning, the gradual loss of an asset's value over time, grew up alongside the older sense as accounting and economics matured. The spelling trap lives in that pretium root: it is the soft 'ci' that produces the 'sh' sound, so writers who spell by ear are tempted to insert an extra 's' or to drop the 'i' entirely.

How the word is built

• de- (down)
• preci- (price/value, from Latin pretium)
• -ation (noun-forming suffix)