Propensity

How to spell propensity

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce propensity

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does propensity mean?

1. nounA natural inclination or tendency to behave in a particular way.

Propensity in a sentence

• His propensity for arriving late frustrated the whole team.

• The report noted a propensity among new drivers to underestimate stopping distances.

Where does propensity come from?

Language of origin: Latin

Propensity comes from the Latin verb propendere, which literally meant 'to hang forward' or 'to lean toward', formed from pro 'forward' and pendere 'to hang' or 'to weigh'. The past participle propensus carried the sense of being inclined or leaning in a particular direction, and from that came the abstract notion of a natural tendency. English took up the adjective 'propense' and then built the noun 'propensity' in the early 1600s to name an ingrained inclination to behave a certain way. The same pendere root sits inside familiar relatives such as 'pendant', 'pending', and 'suspend', all of which keep the idea of hanging or weighing. Knowing that the middle holds 'pens', the leaning part from pendere, helps fix the spelling and explains why it is not 'propencity'.

How the word is built

• pro- (forward)
• pens (to hang/lean, from Latin pendere)
• -ity (noun-forming suffix)