Simultaneous

How to spell simultaneous

12 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce simultaneous

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does simultaneous mean?

1. adjectiveHappening, existing, or done at exactly the same time.

Simultaneous in a sentence

• The two simultaneous broadcasts reached audiences on both coasts at once.

• A power surge caused the simultaneous failure of every monitor in the office.

Where does simultaneous come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin adverb simul, which simply meant 'at the same time' or 'together', the same root that sits behind 'assemble' and 'resemble'. From simul medieval Latin formed simultaneus, an adjective describing things happening together, probably shaped by analogy with words like 'instantaneous' and 'spontaneous'. English adopted it in the seventeenth century, chiefly in scholarly and scientific writing where describing concurrent events precisely mattered. The spelling trap lives in that ending: the cluster is -taneous, with the 'a' belonging to the linking syllable and the soft '-eous' finish that many adults reduce to a single blurred schwa. Remembering the bridge from instant-aneous and spont-aneous, all sharing the same -aneous tail, keeps the vowels in the right order.

How the word is built

• simul- (Latin: at the same time)
• -tane- (linking element)
• -ous (adjective suffix: full of, having)