Endangering

How to spell endangering

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce endangering

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does endangering mean?

1. verbPutting someone or something at risk of harm, loss, or destruction.

Endangering in a sentence

• Reckless overtaking on that bend is endangering other drivers.

• The chemical leak was endangering the river and its fish stocks.

Where does endangering come from?

Language of origin: French

This is the present participle of the verb 'endanger', which was assembled in English in the late 1400s from the prefix 'en-', meaning 'to put into' or 'to cause to be in', and the noun 'danger'. 'Danger' itself came through Old French 'dangier', an alteration of 'dongier', which meant power, dominion, or the ability to harm someone. That word traces back to the Vulgar Latin 'dominiarium', meaning lordship or authority, from Latin 'dominus', meaning lord or master, the same root behind 'dominate' and 'dominion'. The original sense of being 'in someone's danger' meant being in their power or at their mercy, and only later did it narrow to the modern idea of exposure to harm or risk. The spelling trap lives in the soft 'g', which sounds like a 'j' yet is written 'ger', and in the single consonants throughout, since writers sometimes expect a doubled letter that is not there.

How the word is built

• en- (to put into)
• danger (peril, jeopardy)
• -ing (present participle suffix)