Implementation

How to spell implementation

14 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce implementation

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does implementation mean?

1. nounThe act of putting a decision, plan, or system into practical effect.

Implementation in a sentence

• The implementation of the new payroll software took three months.

• Management approved the policy but delayed its implementation until spring.

Where does implementation come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word traces back to the Latin verb implere, meaning 'to fill up' or 'to complete', formed from in- ('in, towards') and plere ('to fill'). From that verb came the late Latin noun implementum, literally a 'filling up', which came to mean the things needed to fill out or complete a task, in other words tools and equipment. English borrowed 'implement' in the 1500s, first in the sense of supplies or articles of equipment, and only later as a verb meaning to carry something out fully. 'Implementation', the noun describing the act of putting a plan or system into effect, was built on that verb with the productive ending -ation and became common in technical and administrative writing. The same plere root that means 'to fill' also gives us 'complete', 'supplement' and 'plenty', which is a useful reminder that the spelling carries a single l, not a doubled one, before the -ementation.

How the word is built

• im- (variant of in-: in, into)
• ple/plere (to fill)
• -ment (result/means)
• -ation (noun of action)