Promotion

How to spell promotion

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce promotion

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does promotion mean?

1. nounAn advance to a higher rank, grade, or position, usually at work.
2. nounActivity that encourages the sale of a product, or a special offer used to boost sales.

Promotion in a sentence

• Her hard work earned her a well deserved promotion to senior manager.

• The supermarket ran a promotion offering two boxes for the price of one.

• The promotion came with a pay rise and a larger office.

• The agency handled the promotion of the new film across social media.

Where does promotion come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin promotio, a noun built on the verb promovere, which literally meant 'to move forward' or 'to push ahead', combining pro 'forward' with movere 'to move'. The same movere root sits inside a large family of English words such as motion, motor, remove and emotion, all of which carry the idea of movement. English took promotion through Old French in the late 1300s, at first in the sense of advancing a person to a higher rank or office. From there the meaning broadened: by the modern era it covered the active encouragement or advertising of a product, and the temporary special offer used to boost sales. The spelling stays loyal to its Latin parent, keeping the single t of mot and the -ion ending, so the only real trap is hearing the unstressed first syllable as 'pruh' and forgetting the o.

How the word is built

• pro- (forward)
• mot (from movere: to move)
• -ion (noun suffix)