Veteran

How to spell veteran

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce veteran

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does veteran mean?

1. nounA person who has long experience in a particular activity or occupation.
2. nounA person who has served in the armed forces, especially during a war.
3. adjectiveHaving long experience in a particular field or activity.

Veteran in a sentence

• noun

  As a veteran of three decades in the newsroom, she trained every junior reporter.

• noun

  The charity provides housing and counselling for every veteran returning from active service.

• adjective

  The veteran pilot landed the aircraft calmly despite the storm.

• noun

  The negotiation was handled by a veteran of countless boardroom disputes.

• noun

  The parade honoured each surviving veteran of the campaign.

• adjective

  A veteran engineer reviewed the plans before construction began.

Where does veteran come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin veteranus, which meant 'old' or 'experienced' and was applied especially to a soldier who had served for many years. It was built on vetus, the Latin word for 'old' or 'long established', the same root that gives us 'veterinary' (originally relating to the old, that is the worn-out, beasts of burden tended by such doctors). English took the word in during the early 1500s, first describing a seasoned soldier and then widening to anyone with long practical experience in a field. The middle of the word preserves that veter- root, and the unstressed second syllable is exactly the spot where writers stumble, since 'vet-er-an' can sound like it has only two beats. Remembering the link to 'veterinary' helps fix that hidden middle vowel in place.

How the word is built

• veter- (from Latin vetus: old, of long standing)
• -an (suffix forming a noun or adjective)