Showcasing

How to spell showcasing

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce showcasing

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does showcasing mean?

1. verbPresenting or displaying something prominently so its best qualities are seen.

Showcasing in a sentence

• The gallery is showcasing work by three local painters this month.

• Her portfolio is built around showcasing the projects she led at work.

Where does showcasing come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word is the present participle of the verb 'showcase', a fairly modern compound built from two much older words. 'Show' descends from the Old English 'sceawian', meaning 'to look at' or 'to display', while 'case' here means a box or glass cabinet for displaying goods, a sense borrowed from the Latin 'capsa', meaning a container or chest. The noun 'showcase' first appeared in the nineteenth century to describe a glazed cabinet used by shopkeepers to present their best items to customers. By the early twentieth century the noun had been turned into a verb meaning 'to display prominently', and 'showcasing' is simply that verb in its ongoing form. The spelling stays regular and predictable: the silent 'e' of 'case' is dropped before the '-ing', so it is one of the gentler words to record correctly.

How the word is built

• show (display)
• case (a box for display)
• -ing (present participle suffix)