ostensible
/ɒˈstensəbəl/ah-STEN-suh-buhl
/ɑˈstɛnsəbəl/ah-STEN-suh-buhl
Meaningable to be shown
Common meaning: seeming true, but perhaps not
- osbefore
- tensto stretch out; to aim atLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1852 · scan
- ibleable to be
‘before’ + ‘to stretch out’ → ostensible
Journey through time
- Latinostensus‘shown’source
- Englishostensible‘seeming true, but perhaps not’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Latin tendō ‘to stretch out’.
Roots
- tendō, tetendī, tentum/tēnsum Latin “to stretch out; to aim at”
Related words
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