Layered

How to spell layered

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce layered

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does layered mean?

1. adjectiveArranged in or made up of several distinct thicknesses placed one over another.
2. verbPlaced or arranged something in successive thicknesses, one over another.

Layered in a sentence

• adjective

  The recipe calls for a richly layered chocolate cake.

• verb

  The chef layered the lasagne with pasta, sauce and cheese.

• adjective

  A layered haircut frames the face with overlapping lengths.

• verb

  She layered the paint to build a deeper, richer colour.

Where does layered come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word traces back to the Old English verb 'lecgan', meaning 'to put or place down', a close relative of 'lie' and a cousin of similar verbs across the Germanic languages. From the act of laying things down came the noun 'layer', recorded from the seventeenth century to describe one thickness of material placed over or under another. Adding the suffix '-ed' produced both the past tense of the verb 'to layer' and the adjective describing something built up in layers. The spelling trap is the quiet middle: the noun 'layer' keeps its '-er', so the form is 'layer' plus '-ed', giving the double-vowel cluster 'layered' rather than the tempting but wrong 'layred'. Because the root is so ordinary and native, the word never picked up foreign spelling quirks; the only stumble is remembering that the silent-feeling '-er-' stays in place before the ending.

How the word is built

• lay (root: to place down)
• -er (forming 'layer', a thickness placed over another)
• -ed (past tense / adjectival suffix)