Versed

How to spell versed

6 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce versed

What does versed mean?

1. adjectiveExperienced in or knowledgeable about a particular subject or skill.

Versed in a sentence

• The new accountant is well versed in tax law.

• She is thoroughly versed in the company's safety procedures.

Where does versed come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word goes back to the Latin verb versari, meaning 'to be occupied with' or 'to busy oneself', which itself was a frequentative of vertere, 'to turn'. The underlying image is of someone turning a subject over and over until they know it thoroughly, which is exactly the sense that survives in modern English. English took up the past participle versatus, and by the early 1600s 'versed' was being used to describe a person experienced or practised in some field. The same Latin vertere lies behind a whole family of relatives, including 'version', 'reverse', and 'versatile', all of which involve some idea of turning. Because the word ends in the familiar -ed of an ordinary past tense, writers rarely doubt the spelling, though the single s sometimes tempts a needless double.

How the word is built

• vers- (from Latin versari: to be occupied or engaged)
• -ed (adjective/past-participle suffix)