Mutual

How to spell mutual

6 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce mutual

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does mutual mean?

1. adjectiveFelt or done equally by two or more parties toward each other; shared in common.

Mutual in a sentence

• The two managers built their partnership on mutual respect.

• After months of arguing, the divorce was settled by mutual agreement.

Where does mutual come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin mutuus, which meant 'reciprocal' or 'borrowed', describing something given and returned in equal measure. That adjective was rooted in the verb mutare, meaning 'to change' or 'to exchange', the same root that gives us 'mutate' and 'commute'. The original sense had a strong flavour of lending and exchange, since a thing held mutually passed back and forth between two parties. English took the word in the late 1400s, partly through French mutuel, and settled on the spelling 'mutual', keeping the 'tu' that the modern pronunciation softens to a 'ch' sound. Over time the meaning broadened from borrowing and exchange to any feeling or arrangement shared equally between people, which is why a savings society pooling members' money is still called a 'mutual'.

How the word is built

• mutu- (from Latin mutuus: reciprocal, borrowed)
• -al (adjective suffix)