Enrichment

How to spell enrichment

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce enrichment

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does enrichment mean?

1. nounThe act or result of improving the quality, value, or usefulness of something by adding to it.

Enrichment in a sentence

• The after-school enrichment programme offered coding and chess.

• Farmers rely on soil enrichment to raise their crop yields.

Where does enrichment come from?

Language of origin: French

This word is built on the verb 'enrich', which English took from the Old French 'enrichir', meaning 'to make rich'. That French verb combined the prefix 'en-', meaning 'to put into' or 'to cause to become', with 'riche', meaning 'wealthy' or 'powerful'; 'riche' itself traces back to a Germanic root linked to power and rule, the same family that gave German 'reich' (kingdom or rich). The noun-forming suffix '-ment', which arrived through French from the Latin '-mentum', was then added to express the action or its result, giving 'enrichment' the sense of the process or outcome of making something richer. The word entered English in the late 1500s, at first about material wealth, and only later broadened to mean improving the quality, value, or interest of something, as in soil enrichment or an enrichment programme. The spelling is reassuringly regular: simply spell 'enrich' and add '-ment', with no silent letters or doubling to trip you up.

How the word is built

• en- (to make, put into)
• rich (wealthy, abundant)
• -ment (noun suffix denoting the result or process)