Equivalent

How to spell equivalent

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce equivalent

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does equivalent mean?

1. adjectiveEqual in value, amount, meaning, or effect to something else.
2. nounA thing that is equal to another in value, amount, function, or meaning.

Equivalent in a sentence

• adjective

  The new salary is roughly equivalent to her old one after tax.

• noun

  The recipe lists butter, but margarine is a common equivalent.

• adjective

  A mile is equivalent to about one and a half kilometres.

• noun

  There is no exact equivalent for that French phrase in English.

Where does equivalent come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Late Latin aequivalentem, the present participle of aequivalere, a verb meaning 'to have equal power' or 'to be worth the same'. It was assembled from aequus, meaning 'equal' or 'level', and valere, meaning 'to be strong' or 'to be worth', the same root that gives us 'value', 'valid', and 'valour'. English took the word in the early 1400s, at first through scholarly and scientific writing, where one quantity could be declared equal in worth or effect to another. The spelling keeps the Latin 'equi-' for 'equal' intact, which is a useful memory hook: think 'equal worth' and the middle 'val' falls into place. Because writers say the unstressed middle and final syllables as a blur of schwa sounds, the 'a' in 'valent' and the 'e' in 'lent' are the parts that trip people up rather than the clear opening.

How the word is built

• equi- (equal)
• val (from Latin valere: to be worth, be strong)
• -ent (adjective/noun suffix)