Merging

How to spell merging

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce merging

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does merging mean?

1. verbCombining or blending two or more things into a single unified whole.

Merging in a sentence

• The two firms are merging to cut their overheads.

• Merging the spreadsheets saved her several hours of work.

Where does merging come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is the present participle of the verb 'merge', which English took from the Latin verb mergere, meaning 'to dip', 'to plunge', or 'to immerse in liquid'. When the word first arrived in English in the 1600s it kept that watery, sinking-in sense, describing something being submerged or absorbed. Over time the idea of one thing being soaked into and lost within another softened into the modern figurative meaning of two things blending into a single combined whole. The same Latin root surfaces in the related words 'immerse' and 'submerge', where the original sense of plunging under water is still plain to see. The spelling stays simple because the soft 'g' is followed by 'i', so no 'e' is needed before the -ing, which is the small point that trips a few writers who expect a silent 'e' to linger.

How the word is built

• merg- (from Latin mergere: to dip, plunge, immerse)
• -ing (present participle / gerund suffix)