Impromptu

How to spell impromptu

9 letters · 3 syllables

7 of the 23 people asked to spell impromptu in Spelling Garden got it wrong the first time.

How to pronounce impromptu

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does impromptu mean?

1. adjectiveDone or made without preparation, on the spur of the moment.
2. adverbIn an unprepared manner; on the spur of the moment.

Impromptu in a sentence

• adjective

  The manager called an impromptu meeting after the figures came in.

• adverb

  He was asked to address the crowd impromptu when the main speaker fell ill.

• adjective

  Her impromptu speech at the dinner won far more applause than the rehearsed ones.

• adverb

  The band played a few extra songs impromptu once the audience refused to leave.

Where does impromptu come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word goes back to the Latin phrase in promptu, which literally meant 'in readiness' or 'at hand'. It was built on promptus, the past participle of the verb promere, meaning 'to bring out' or 'to produce', formed from pro- 'forth' and emere 'to take'. So something done in promptu was something brought out on the spot, with no preparation. French adopted the phrase as impromptu, and English borrowed it from French in the 1600s, first as an adverb meaning 'without preparation' and soon as an adjective and noun. The same promere root sits behind 'prompt', which is the clue to the spelling: keep the silent-feeling p before the t, just as in 'prompt', so that the ending is -mptu, not -mtu.

How the word is built

• im- (from Latin in: in)
• promptu (from promptus: ready, prepared)