Entry

How to spell entry

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce entry

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does entry mean?

1. nounAn item written or recorded in a list, register, diary, dictionary, or competition.
2. nounThe act of going in, or the door or passage by which one enters a place.

Entry in a sentence

• Each dictionary entry gives the word's meaning and origin.

• Deliveries are made through the side entry at the back of the building.

• She made a short entry in her diary before going to bed.

• A sign by the gate warned that entry was forbidden after dark.

Where does entry come from?

Language of origin: French

The word comes from the Old French 'entree', the feminine past participle of the verb 'entrer', meaning 'to go in'. That French verb descended from the Latin 'intrare', built on 'intra', meaning 'within' or 'inside'. English adopted the noun in the 1200s and 1300s, first for the act of going in and for the doorway or passage that let you in. From there the sense widened to anything 'entered' onto a list or into a record, which is why a line in a ledger, a diary note, and a competition submission all became entries. The very same Latin root sits inside the everyday verb 'enter', and remembering that link explains the spelling: the silent-looking shift from 'entree' to 'entry' simply traded the French ending for the English noun suffix '-y'.

How the word is built

• entr- (root, from Latin intrare 'to go in')
• -y (noun suffix)