Endorsing

How to spell endorsing

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce endorsing

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does endorsing mean?

1. verbPublicly declaring approval of or support for a person, product, or idea.
2. verbSigning the back of a cheque or document to make it valid or to transfer it.

Endorsing in a sentence

• The union is endorsing the proposed pay agreement.

• She was endorsing the cheque before depositing it at the bank.

• Several doctors are endorsing the new health campaign.

• He kept endorsing each contract as the clerk handed them over.

Where does endorsing come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin dorsum, meaning 'the back', combined with the prefix in, giving the sense of writing something 'on the back'. Medieval Latin formed indorsare, literally 'to put on the back', because a signature of approval or a transfer note was traditionally written on the reverse side of a document or cheque. English took it through Old French endosser in the 1400s, and the modern spelling settled with 'en-' rather than 'in-', which is the small trap many writers still hesitate over. From the literal act of signing the back of a paper, the meaning broadened to mean lending public support or approval to a person, product, or idea. The same Latin dorsum survives in words like 'dorsal', the fin on a fish's back, a handy reminder that the heart of 'endorsing' is the back of something.

How the word is built

• en- (in, on)
• dors (back, from Latin dorsum)
• -ing (present participle)