Membership

How to spell membership

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce membership

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does membership mean?

1. nounThe state of belonging to a group, club, or organisation, or the people who belong to it.

Membership in a sentence

• Her gym membership expires at the end of the month.

• The club reviews each new membership application carefully.

Where does membership come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word joins 'member' with the native English suffix '-ship'. 'Member' came into English in the 1300s through Old French from the Latin membrum, which literally meant 'a limb' or 'a bodily part', and only later widened to mean a person belonging to a body or group. The ending '-ship' is thoroughly English, descending from the Old English 'scipe', meaning a state, condition, or quality, the same element seen in friendship, hardship, and ownership. Put together, the word names the state of being a member, and it became common from the 1600s as clubs, churches, and societies grew. The spelling is mostly regular; the only real trap is remembering the single 'b' from membrum and resisting the urge to drop or double letters around the join.

How the word is built

• member (from Latin membrum: a limb or part)
• -ship (Old English suffix denoting state or condition)