Inauguration

How to spell inauguration

12 letters · 5 syllables

11 of the 21 people asked to spell inauguration in Spelling Garden got it wrong the first time.

The most common mistake is inaugaration. The letters people get wrong are highlighted.

inaugaration inauguration

What people typed instead

• inaugaration6 people

How to pronounce inauguration

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does inauguration mean?

1. nounThe formal ceremony at which a person is admitted to high office, or the official beginning of an institution or event.

Inauguration in a sentence

• The president's inauguration drew crowds to the capital.

• The inauguration of the new bridge included a ribbon-cutting and a short speech.

Where does inauguration come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word traces back to the Latin verb inaugurare, which literally meant 'to install or consecrate after consulting the omens'. It was built from in-, meaning 'into' or 'upon', and augur, the title of a Roman priest who read the will of the gods by watching the flight and behaviour of birds. Before a magistrate could take office or a temple could be founded, an augur was expected to confirm that the signs were favourable, so the act of taking up high office became bound up with this ritual of divine approval. English borrowed the noun through French in the early 1600s, keeping the religious overtone of solemnly marking a beginning, which is why we still 'inaugurate' presidents, buildings, and new eras alike. The tricky middle, augur, is the same word that survives in 'augur well', and remembering that priest behind the ceremony helps fix the awkward a-u-g spelling.

How the word is built

• in- (into, upon)
• augur (priest who read omens)
• -ation (noun of action)