Prominently

How to spell prominently

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce prominently

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does prominently mean?

1. adverbIn a way that is easily seen or that stands out as important.

Prominently in a sentence

• The company logo was displayed prominently on the front of the brochure.

• Her name featured prominently in the list of award winners.

Where does prominently come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This adverb traces back to the Latin verb prominere, which meant 'to jut out' or 'to project forward', formed from pro- 'forward' and the root minere 'to overhang or stick out'. The same minere element lies behind 'eminent' and 'imminent', so the family is all about things sticking out or looming near. The Latin present participle prominens gave English the adjective 'prominent' in the early 1400s, originally describing a feature that physically projected, such as a cliff or a nose, before broadening to mean conspicuous or important. The adverb 'prominently' was then built in the regular way by adding the native English ending -ly. The spelling trap sits in the unstressed middle and end: the schwa in 'min' can tempt writers toward an extra vowel, and the suffix is -ent, not -ant, so it ends -ently rather than -antly.

How the word is built

• pro- (forth, forward)
• min (to jut out, from Latin minere)
• -ent (adjective suffix)
• -ly (adverb suffix)