Measuring

How to spell measuring

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce measuring

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does measuring mean?

1. verbDetermining the size, amount, or extent of something, or used attributively of a tool meant for that purpose.

Measuring in a sentence

• She spent the afternoon measuring the windows for new blinds.

• The recipe needs a proper measuring jug rather than a guess.

Where does measuring come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is the present participle of the verb measure, which English took from the Old French mesurer in the 1300s. The French word descended from the Latin mensurare, built on mensura, meaning 'a measuring' or 'a measure', which in turn came from the verb metiri, 'to measure out'. That same Latin root quietly survives in a family of English words such as dimension, immense (literally 'not measurable'), and commensurate. The spelling preserves the older French shape, which is why we keep the 'ea' even though it is pronounced as a short 'e', and the silent move from the final 'e' of measure to the '-ing' ending is the small trap: the 'e' is dropped, giving measuring rather than measureing. The notion has stayed remarkably stable for centuries, always meaning the act of finding the size, amount, or extent of something.

How the word is built

• measure (from Latin mensura: a measuring)
• -ing (present participle / gerund suffix)