Surprise
nounSomething unexpected, or the feeling of mild astonishment it produces.
How to spell surprise
8 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce surprise
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does surprise mean?
- nounSomething unexpected, or the feeling of mild astonishment it produces.
- verbTo cause someone to feel mild astonishment by doing something unexpected.
Surprise in a sentence
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noun
The bonus cheque came as a complete surprise to the whole team.
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verb
They wanted to surprise their mother with a weekend trip.
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noun
Her early arrival was a pleasant surprise for the family.
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verb
The final sales figures did not surprise the accountant at all.
Where does surprise come from?
Language of origin: French
Surprise came into English from Old French in the late 1300s, built from the prefix sur-, meaning 'over' or 'upon' (ultimately the Latin super), joined to the past participle of prendre, 'to take' or 'to seize'. The literal sense was therefore 'to overtake' or 'to seize suddenly', and the earliest English uses were military: an army was 'surprised' when an enemy attacked it unexpectedly and caught it off guard. From that idea of being caught unawares grew the modern emotional meaning, the feeling of sudden wonder or astonishment at something unexpected. The same prendre root sits inside relatives such as 'comprise', 'enterprise' and 'prison'. The spelling trap is almost entirely that first, easily dropped 'r' in 'sur-', since many speakers say 'su-prise' and then write it that way.
How the word is built
- sur- (over, above, from Latin super)
- prise (from prendre, to take/seize)
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