Proposing

How to spell proposing

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce proposing

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does proposing mean?

1. verbPutting forward an idea, plan, or course of action for others to consider.
2. verbAsking someone to marry you.

Proposing in a sentence

• The committee is proposing a new policy on remote work.

• He was so nervous about proposing that he forgot the ring.

• She spent the meeting proposing ways to cut the department budget.

• She had no idea he was planning on proposing during the holiday.

Where does proposing come from?

Language of origin: French

This is the present participle of the verb propose, which English took from the Old French proposer in the 1300s. That French verb grew out of the Latin proponere, a compound of pro, meaning 'forth' or 'forward', and ponere, meaning 'to put' or 'to place'; so the literal idea was to put something forward for others to consider. The Latin past participle of ponere was positus, which is why so many English relatives carry a hidden 's' or 't', as in position, posit, deposit, and compose. Although the French form had the spelling proposer, English settled on the spelling 'propose' under the influence of related words like compose and oppose. Knowing that the middle is the same -pos- that sits inside 'position' helps fix the single 's' and the 'o' in spelling.

How the word is built

• pro- (forth, forward)
• -pos- (to place, from Latin ponere/positus)
• -ing (present participle)