Providence

How to spell providence

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce providence

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does providence mean?

1. nounThe protective care or guiding power of God or nature over human life and events.
2. nounCareful management of resources and prudent foresight in planning for the future.

Providence in a sentence

• The survivors thanked providence for the calm seas that saw them home.

• Their financial providence meant the family had savings ready for the emergency.

• She believed that providence had brought the two old friends back together.

• The council showed real providence by setting aside funds for repairs.

Where does providence come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin providentia, meaning 'foresight' or 'forethought', which was built from the verb providere, literally 'to see ahead' or 'to look out for'. That verb combines pro, meaning 'forward' or 'beforehand', with videre, 'to see', the same root that sits inside 'video', 'vision' and 'evident'. English took the word in through Old French during the 1300s, at first carrying the practical sense of careful planning and prudent management of resources. Over time it acquired a strong religious colouring, coming to name the protective care of God or nature watching over creation, and the noun was even used as a name for the deity itself. The buried videre root explains the spelling trap: the middle is 'vid' (to see), not 'ved', and the ending is the Latinate '-ence' rather than '-ance'.

How the word is built

• pro- (ahead, beforehand)
• vid (to see, from videre)
• -ence (noun suffix)