Replacing

How to spell replacing

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce replacing

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does replacing mean?

1. verbTaking the place of something or someone, or putting a fresh item in the position of one removed.

Replacing in a sentence

• The company is replacing all the old laptops with newer models.

• They spent the weekend replacing the cracked tiles in the bathroom.

Where does replacing come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is the present participle of the verb 'replace', which was assembled in English from the prefix 're-', meaning 'again' or 'back', and the verb 'place'. The verb 'place' descends from the noun 'place', borrowed through Old French from Latin 'platea', meaning a broad street or open public space, which Latin itself had taken from Greek 'plateia', short for 'plateia hodos', a wide road. The literal idea behind 'replace' is therefore to put something back into its place, and from the 1500s it broadened to mean putting a fresh thing into the position once held by another. When the suffix '-ing' is added, the silent 'e' of 'place' is dropped before the vowel, which is exactly the spot where writers slip and leave an extra 'e' in by writing 'replaceing'. The same 'platea' root still surfaces in 'plaza', 'piazza', and 'place' itself, all of which describe open ground.

How the word is built

• re- (again, back)
• place (root, from Latin platea: broad street, open space)
• -ing (present participle / gerund suffix)