Erected

How to spell erected

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce erected

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does erected mean?

1. verbPast tense of erect: built or put up a structure, or raised something into an upright position.

Erected in a sentence

• The council erected a new bridge across the river last spring.

• Workers erected the scaffolding before the repairs began.

Where does erected come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is the past form of the verb 'erect', which comes from the Latin erigere, meaning 'to set up' or 'to raise upright'. That verb was built from the prefix e- (a form of ex-, meaning 'up' or 'out') joined to regere, 'to make straight, guide, or rule'. The past participle erectus literally meant 'raised straight up', and English adopted the word in the late 1400s, first as an adjective for something standing upright and soon as a verb for putting buildings and structures up. The same regere root straightens its way through a whole family of English words, including 'rectangle', 'correct', and 'regular', all carrying the idea of something straight or set right. Knowing that the core is the single root 'rect' (straight) helps fix the spelling, since the word is simply that root with the prefix and the regular -ed ending.

How the word is built

• e- (variant of ex-: up, out)
• rect (from regere: to straighten, guide)
• -ed (past-tense suffix)