Design

How to spell design

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce design

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does design mean?

1. verbTo plan and create the form, layout, or workings of something with a particular purpose in mind.
2. nounA plan, drawing, or arrangement that shows how something is to be made or how its parts fit together.

Design in a sentence

• verb

  The architects will design a more efficient layout for the office.

• noun

  The final design of the building won an architecture award.

• verb

  Engineers design bridges to withstand heavy traffic and strong winds.

• noun

  A fault in the design caused the machine to overheat.

Where does design come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb designare, meaning 'to mark out' or 'to point out', which was built from de- ('out, down') and signum ('a mark, token, or sign'). English took it up in the late 1300s, partly through Old French designer and partly straight from the Latin, and early uses carried the sense of marking out a plan or intention before doing anything. Over time the idea of a deliberate mental scheme broadened into both the abstract plan and the visible pattern or drawing that expresses it. The same signum root sits inside everyday relatives such as 'signal', 'signature', and 'assign', all of which share the notion of a mark that carries meaning. The silent g, which softens into the long i sound, is the spelling trap here: it survives from the Latin signum even though the modern pronunciation hides it.

How the word is built

• de- (down, out)
• sign (from Latin signum: a mark or sign)