Production

How to spell production

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce production

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does production mean?

1. nounThe process of making or manufacturing goods, or the quantity that is made.
2. nounA staged or filmed work, such as a play, film, or television programme, together with the work of mounting it.

Production in a sentence

• The factory increased production to meet the holiday demand.

• The theatre's latest production sold out within an hour.

• A fault on the assembly line halted production for two days.

• She worked in production on several television dramas.

Where does production come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word descends from the Latin productio, meaning 'a bringing forth' or 'a lengthening', a noun built on the verb producere. That verb combined pro, meaning 'forward' or 'forth', with ducere, meaning 'to lead' or 'to draw', so its literal sense was to lead something out into the open. English took the word through Old French in the late medieval period, where it carried ideas of generating and presenting. The sense gradually broadened from simply bringing something forth to the modern meanings of manufacturing goods and staging a performance. The same ducere root still leads through a whole family of English words, including conduct, reduce, and aqueduct, which is a helpful reminder that the trap-free spelling keeps the clear 'duct' in the middle.

How the word is built

• pro- (forth, forward)
• duct (from Latin ducere: to lead, to bring)
• -ion (noun-forming suffix)