Empowerment

How to spell empowerment

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce empowerment

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does empowerment mean?

1. nounThe process of giving someone the authority, confidence, or means to take control and act for themselves.

Empowerment in a sentence

• The training programme focused on the empowerment of frontline staff.

• Financial independence gave her a real sense of empowerment.

Where does empowerment come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is a relatively modern English formation, built on the verb 'empower', which dates from the 1600s. 'Empower' joins the prefix 'em-' (a form of 'en-' meaning 'to put into' or 'to cause to be') to the noun 'power'. 'Power' itself came into English in the 1300s through Old French 'poeir' or 'povoir', meaning 'to be able', which traces back to the Latin verb 'posse', 'to be able', the same root that gives us 'possible' and 'potent'. For centuries 'empower' simply meant to give someone legal or official authority to act. The abstract noun 'empowerment' was formed by adding the suffix '-ment', and it surged in popularity in the late twentieth century in social and management contexts, shifting toward the sense of giving people confidence and control over their own lives. The spelling trap lives in the silent doubling of sounds in the middle: the 'em-' prefix followed by 'power' produces 'empower', and writers must remember the single 'm' and the full 'power' before adding '-ment'.

How the word is built

• em- (variant of en-: to put into or cause to be)
• power (ability, authority)
• -ment (noun-forming suffix)