Logistical

How to spell logistical

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce logistical

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does logistical mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to the practical organisation and coordination of a complex operation, such as moving people, supplies, or equipment.

Logistical in a sentence

• Moving the entire office across town raised several logistical problems.

• The wedding planner handled every logistical detail, from parking to catering.

Where does logistical come from?

Language of origin: French

This adjective grows out of 'logistics', which English took from the French word logistique in the early nineteenth century. The French term came from loger, meaning 'to lodge' or 'to quarter troops', and originally described the military art of moving, housing, and supplying an army. There was also a parallel pull from the Greek logistikos, meaning 'skilled in calculating', built on logos, which carried senses of word, reckoning, and reason, and that calculating sense reinforced the idea of working out supply and movement. By the twentieth century 'logistics' had broadened far beyond the army into any complex coordination of people, goods, and timing, and 'logistical' became the everyday adjective for it. The single 's' and the soft 'g' (pronounced like 'j') are the spots writers most often second guess, since the word looks as though it could carry a doubled letter that it never does.

How the word is built

• logist- (from logistics: the management of supply and movement)
• -ical (adjective suffix)