Education

How to spell education

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce education

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does education mean?

1. nounThe process of teaching or learning, especially in schools, colleges, or universities, and the knowledge it produces.

Education in a sentence

• A good education opens the door to better job prospects.

• The government promised to increase spending on education this year.

Where does education come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin educatio, meaning 'a rearing' or 'a bringing up', which was formed from the verb educare, 'to bring up, to train, to rear'. That verb is closely tied to educere, literally 'to lead out' or 'to draw out', built from the prefix ex- (out) and ducere (to lead). The image at the root is of drawing a young mind out toward its full growth, the same ducere that survives in 'conduct', 'produce', and 'duke'. English picked the word up in the early 1500s, at first describing the rearing of children and animals before settling into its modern sense of formal schooling. The tricky spelling comes from that hidden Latin duc: the middle is spelled -duc- but is usually pronounced with a 'j' sound, which is why writers can hesitate over the letters they cannot quite hear.

How the word is built

• e- (out, variant of ex-)
• duc (lead, from Latin ducere)
• -ation (noun of action/process)