Different

How to spell different

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce different

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does different mean?

1. adjectiveNot the same as another or as each other; unlike in nature, form, or quality.

Different in a sentence

• I'd like to try something different.

• Try a different approach next time.

Where does different come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin differentem, the accusative of differens, which was the present participle of the verb differre, meaning 'to carry apart' or 'to set apart'. That verb joined dis-, meaning 'apart' or 'away', to ferre, meaning 'to carry or bear', so the literal image is of two things carried away from each other and therefore not alike. English borrowed it through Old French in the late 1300s, keeping the sense of being unlike or distinct. The same ferre root carries through into a whole family of English words such as 'transfer', 'refer', and 'defer', all built on the idea of carrying. The spelling trap lives in the middle: the schwa-sounded vowel before -ent often tempts writers toward 'differant', but the ending is -ent.

How the word is built

• dif- (apart, away)
• fer (to carry, bear)
• -ent (adjective suffix)