Prudence
nounThe quality of being careful and sensible, especially in managing risk and resources.
How to spell prudence
8 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce prudence
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does prudence mean?
- nounThe quality of being careful and sensible, especially in managing risk and resources.
Prudence in a sentence
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Financial prudence kept the company solvent through the downturn.
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Basic prudence suggests keeping three months of savings in reserve.
Where does prudence come from?
Language of origin: Latin
Prudence comes from the Latin prudentia, meaning 'foresight' or 'good sense', which was itself a contracted form of providentia, 'the act of seeing ahead'. The root verb providere literally meant 'to see before' or 'to look forward', built from pro 'ahead' and videre 'to see', so the original idea was the practical wisdom of someone who anticipates what is coming. English took the word through Old French as prudence during the 1300s, keeping the sense of careful, sensible judgement in managing affairs. Its close cousin 'providence' kept the longer, uncontracted spelling and a more religious flavour, while prudence stayed earthbound and practical. The hidden trap in the spelling is the unstressed middle, written -dence rather than -dance, even though it carries the same neutral schwa sound.
How the word is built
- prud- (from provid-: foreseeing, providing)
- -ence (noun suffix forming a quality)
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