Introduced

How to spell introduced

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce introduced

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does introduced mean?

1. verbPast tense of introduce: presented one person to another, or brought something into use, knowledge, or a place for the first time.

Introduced in a sentence

• A colleague introduced me to the new finance manager at the meeting.

• The company introduced a four-day week to improve staff morale.

Where does introduced come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is the past tense of 'introduce', which comes from the Latin verb introducere, meaning 'to lead in' or 'to bring in'. It was built from intro, meaning 'to the inside' or 'inward', and ducere, the common Latin verb 'to lead', a root that English speakers also meet in words like 'conduct', 'produce', and 'reduce'. English borrowed the word in the early 1500s, at first in the literal sense of bringing one thing into another, and the social sense of making people acquainted developed shortly afterwards. The spelling preserves the Latin parts cleanly, so the 'duc' that follows 'intro' is the same lead-element seen across that whole family of words. The chief trap for writers is the unstressed vowel in the middle, since 'introduced' is often heard as 'intro-doost', which can tempt a missing or wrong vowel.

How the word is built

• intro- (to the inside, inward)
• duc (from Latin ducere: to lead)
• -ed (past tense suffix)