Educate

How to spell educate

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce educate

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does educate mean?

1. verbTo give someone knowledge, training, or schooling, especially over a sustained period.

Educate in a sentence

• The charity works to educate children in remote villages.

• The campaign aims to educate the public about online fraud.

Where does educate come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin educare, meaning 'to bring up, rear, or train', which was closely tied to the verb educere, 'to lead out' or 'to draw out'. Both verbs share the root ducere, meaning 'to lead', the same root that gives us 'conduct', 'produce', and 'duke'. The literal image is one of leading or drawing something out of a person, a notion that still flavours the modern idea of educating: developing latent ability rather than merely filling an empty vessel. English adopted the word in the fifteenth century, first in the sense of rearing or nourishing the young, and the narrower meaning of formal schooling settled in over the following centuries. The single 'd' and the 'u' that follows it both trace straight back to ducere, which is a handy reminder that there is no double letter to fear here.

How the word is built

• e- (out, from ex-)
• duc (to lead, from ducere)
• -ate (verb suffix)