Endorse

How to spell endorse

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce endorse

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does endorse mean?

1. verbTo declare public approval or support for a person, product, or idea.
2. verbTo sign the back of a cheque or document to transfer or authorise payment.
3. verbTo record a penalty or offence on a driving licence.

Endorse in a sentence

• Several senior doctors agreed to endorse the new health guidelines.

• You must endorse the cheque before the bank will deposit it.

• The court can endorse a licence with penalty points for speeding.

• The company paid a famous athlete to endorse its running shoes.

• She had to endorse the certificate over to the new owner.

• Magistrates chose to endorse his licence rather than impose a ban.

Where does endorse come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word traces back to the Latin dorsum, meaning 'the back' (the same root that gives us 'dorsal' for the back of a fish or animal). Medieval Latin formed indorsare, 'to write on the back of something', because formal notes and approvals were literally inscribed on the reverse of a document or letter. English took the word in through Old French endosser in the 1300s and 1400s, and the spelling was later remodelled to look more Latin, which is how the modern 'en-' beginning settled in. From the very physical act of signing the back of a paper grew the figurative sense of giving something your backing or public approval. Remembering that the 'dorse' part means 'back' (as in dorsal) helps fix the spelling, since the trap is the silent flow of the unstressed first syllable.

How the word is built

• en- (on, upon)
• dorse (from Latin dorsum: the back) = literally to write on the back