Efficiently

How to spell efficiently

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce efficiently

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does efficiently mean?

1. adverbIn a way that achieves results with the least waste of time, effort, or resources.

Efficiently in a sentence

• The new software lets the team process invoices far more efficiently than before.

• She organised the warehouse so that orders could be packed efficiently during busy periods.

Where does efficiently come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb efficere, meaning 'to work out', 'to accomplish', or 'to bring about'. That verb was built from the prefix ex-, meaning 'out', combined with facere, the everyday Latin verb 'to do' or 'to make', so the literal idea was something like 'making something come out' or producing a result. The present participle efficiens gave English the adjective 'efficient', which arrived through Old French in the late 1300s, at first carrying the philosophical sense of a cause that actually produces an effect. Over time the meaning narrowed to the modern idea of getting good results without wasting effort or resources, and the adverb 'efficiently' was formed by adding the native English suffix -ly. The same facere root sits inside a huge family of relatives such as 'effect', 'factory', and 'manufacture', which is a useful reminder that the tricky middle of the word is a doubled f from the assimilated ex- plus a 'ci' that sounds like 'sh'.

How the word is built

• ef- (from ex-, out)
• fic (from facere: to do, make)
• -ient (adjective ending)
• -ly (adverb suffix)