Entourage

How to spell entourage

9 letters · 3 syllables

1 of the 36 people asked to spell entourage in Spelling Garden got it wrong the first time.

How to pronounce entourage

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does entourage mean?

1. nounThe group of people who accompany and attend an important or famous person.

Entourage in a sentence

• The singer arrived at the hotel with a large entourage of assistants and bodyguards.

• The senator's entourage filled three black cars outside the courthouse.

Where does entourage come from?

Language of origin: French

This word comes straight from French, where entourage means 'surroundings' or 'attendant company'. It is built on the verb entourer, 'to surround', which in turn rests on the noun tour, meaning 'a turn' or 'a circuit' (the same tour that gives English words like 'tour' and 'detour'). The en- prefix carries the sense of 'in' or 'around', so the literal idea is the people gathered around an important figure. English borrowed it in the early nineteenth century, keeping the French spelling and the soft, French-style ending that sounds like the 's' in 'measure'. Because the word arrived intact from French, its silent 'e', the 'ou' in the middle, and the unexpected '-age' ending are all the original French features, which is exactly why the spelling feels slippery to English writers.

How the word is built

• en- (in, around)
• tour (a turn, circuit)
• -age (noun suffix denoting a collective group)