Remaining

How to spell remaining

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce remaining

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does remaining mean?

1. adjectiveStill left after others have gone, been used, or been dealt with.

Remaining in a sentence

• She spent the remaining money on groceries before payday.

• The remaining tickets sold out within an hour of going on sale.

Where does remaining come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb manere, which simply meant 'to stay' or 'to remain in place'. The prefixed form remanere added re-, here carrying the sense of 'back' or 'behind', so the whole word meant 'to stay behind' or 'be left over'. It travelled into English through Old French remaindre during the 1300s, and the participle 'remaining' soon came to describe whatever was still left after the rest had gone. The same manere root quietly sits inside familiar relatives such as 'mansion' (originally a place where one stays) and 'permanent' (staying through). The single m and the plain -aining ending are the usual spelling worry, since writers sometimes hesitate over doubling letters that in fact stay single here.

How the word is built

• re- (back, again)
• main (from manere: to stay)
• -ing (participle/adjective suffix)