Distancing

How to spell distancing

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce distancing

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does distancing mean?

1. nounThe act of keeping a physical or emotional space between oneself and others or things.

Distancing in a sentence

• The office reopened with strict distancing between desks.

• Emotional distancing from a stressful job can protect your wellbeing.

Where does distancing come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word grows from the verb 'distance', which English assembled from the noun 'distance', borrowed through Old French from the Latin distantia, meaning 'a standing apart' or 'an interval of space'. That Latin noun came from distare, 'to stand apart', built from dis- 'apart' and stare 'to stand', the same root that gives us 'stand', 'stable', and 'status'. The noun entered English in the 1300s, and by the 1500s 'distance' was also being used as a verb meaning to set things apart or to leave behind. The form 'distancing' is simply that verb turned into a verbal noun with the -ing ending, describing the act of putting space between things or people. It surged into everyday use during public health campaigns around 'social distancing', though the silent stretch in the middle, the unstressed 'tance', is still where writers can stumble.

How the word is built

• dis- (apart)
• stance (standing, from Latin stare 'to stand')
• -ing (forming the verbal noun)