Engineering

How to spell engineering

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce engineering

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does engineering mean?

1. nounThe branch of science and technology concerned with the design, building, and use of machines, structures, and systems.
2. verbPresent participle of engineer: skilfully arranging or contriving something to happen.

Engineering in a sentence

• noun

  She studied mechanical engineering at university.

• verb

  The board accused him of engineering the takeover behind their backs.

• noun

  The bridge is a remarkable feat of civil engineering.

• verb

  They spent months quietly engineering a merger between the two firms.

Where does engineering come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word traces back to the Latin ingenium, which literally meant 'natural talent' or 'cleverness', from in- 'in' and the root gen- 'to produce or beget'. In medieval Latin ingeniare came to mean 'to contrive or devise', and from it Old French formed engin, a clever device, and engigneor, the person who built such devices, especially military siege machines. English took this in as 'engineer' during the 1300s, originally for someone who designed war engines, and only later broadened it to civil works like roads, bridges, and machines. The abstract noun 'engineering', meaning the profession and the activity itself, was formed in English by adding the suffix -ing, and it became common in the 1700s as civil and mechanical engineering grew. The hidden 'gen' that once meant 'produce' explains why the middle of the word is spelled 'gine' and not 'jine', a useful anchor for the tricky run of vowels.

How the word is built

• engine (from Latin ingenium: cleverness, device)
• -eer (one who works with)
• -ing (noun/gerund suffix)