tantamount
pronunciation
How to pronounce tantamount in British English:
UK [ˈtæntəmaʊnt]
How to pronounce tantamount in American English:
US [ˈtæntəˌmaʊnt]
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- Adjective:
- being essentially equal to something
Word Origin
- tantamount
- tantamount: [17] Tantamount means etymologically ‘amounting to as much’. It comes from an earlier verb tantamount ‘amount to as much as, be equal to’, which was a lexicalization of the Anglo-Norman expression tant amunter ‘amount to as much’. This was made up of tant ‘as much’, which came via Old French from Latin tantus, and amunter, ancestor of English amount.=> amount, paramount
- tantamount (adj.)
- 1640s, from verbal phrase tant amount "be equivalent" (1620s), from Anglo-French tant amunter "amount to as much" (late 13c.), from Old French tant "as much" (11c., from Latin tantus, from tam "so;" see tandem) + amonter "amount to, go up" (see amount (v.)).
Example
- 1. Therefore , opponents argue , allowing people to sport these plates is tantamount to allowing the tea-partiers to advertise on state property .
- 2. Dropping the commitment would be tantamount to a tightening of monetary policy as bond yields rise in anticipation of short-term rate hikes .
- 3. He said the presence of chinese fishery patrol boats in the area was tantamount to a " declaration of war " against japan .
- 4. Not long after the deal collapsed , four executives from rio tinto one involved in the fraught process of negotiating iron ore prices were arrested , initially on charges tantamount to spying .