Studying

How to spell studying

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce studying

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does studying mean?

1. verbApplying the mind to learning a subject, especially by reading, or examining something closely.

Studying in a sentence

• She spent the whole weekend studying for her accountancy exam.

• The engineers are studying the bridge plans for structural faults.

Where does studying come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin noun studium, which literally meant 'eagerness', 'zeal', or 'painstaking application', and from the related verb studere, 'to be diligent' or 'to apply oneself'. The Latin term passed into Old French as estudie before reaching Middle English around the thirteenth century as studie, where it gathered its modern sense of devoted reading and learning. The base verb 'study' simply takes the present participle ending -ing here to form 'studying'. A nice clue to the spelling lies in the relatives that share the same root: 'student', 'studio', and 'studious' all keep the same 'stud' core. The only real trap is remembering that the final -y of 'study' stays put before -ing rather than changing to an -i, since the suffix already begins with i.

How the word is built

• stud- (from Latin studium: eagerness, application)
• -y (from study)
• -ing (present participle/gerund suffix)