Prestige

How to spell prestige

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce prestige

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does prestige mean?

1. nounWidespread respect and admiration earned through quality, achievement, or high social standing.

Prestige in a sentence

• The firm hired her partly for the prestige her name carried in the industry.

• A degree from that university still confers considerable prestige.

Where does prestige come from?

Language of origin: French

This word traces back to the Latin praestigium, which meant an illusion, a delusion, or a conjuror's trick, with the plural praestigiae naming the dazzling sleights of hand a magician performs. That noun grew from praestringere, meaning to bind tightly or to blindfold and dazzle the eyes, formed from prae- (before) and stringere (to draw tight or bind). French carried the word forward as prestige, still tied to the idea of glamour and bewitching illusion, and when English first borrowed it in the 1600s it likewise meant a deception or a magic trick. Only in the 1800s, again following French usage, did it soften into its modern sense of admired standing and dazzling reputation. The original whiff of magical illusion is a neat reminder of why the spelling keeps the unexpected -ige ending pronounced with that soft 'zh'.

How the word is built

• prae- (before)
• stig (from stringere: to bind, dazzle)
• -e