advantage
Meanings
- Any condition, circumstance, opportunity or means, particularly favorable or chance to success, or to any desired end.
- Superiority; mastery; — used with of to specify its nature or with over to specify the other party.
- Superiority of state, or that which gives it; benefit; gain; profit
- The score where one player wins a point after deuce but needs the next to carry the game.
- The continuation of the game after a foul against the attacking team, because the attacking team are in an advantageous position.
- Interest of money; increase; overplus (as the thirteenth in the baker's dozen).
- to provide (someone) with an advantage, to give an edge to
- to do something for one's own benefit; to take advantage of
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Italic *ap Latin ab Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₂énts Proto-Indo-European *-i Proto-Indo-European *h₂énti Proto-Italic *anti Latin ante Late Latin ab ante Old French avant Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Italic *-ātos Latin -ātus Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icus Latin -āticus Latin -āticum Old French -age Old French avantagebor. Middle English avantage English advantage From Middle English avantage, avauntage, from Old French avantage, from avant (“before”), from Late Latin ab ante. The spelling with d originates in a latinizing hypercorrection, the a- being falsely supposed to be from Latin ad (see advance). For sense development, compare foredeal.