Word for Wednesday: Ceiling

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Our Word for Wednesday theme for 2023 is tricky spelling words. This year, after sharing the definition and etymology of each week’s word, we will end every blog post with some tips and tricks to help you spell it.

Our first tricky spelling word for April was immediately and today's word is ceiling.

A ceiling is the upper surface of a covered space. The word is also used metaphorically to describe the upper limit on what is allowed or possible.

Here is ceiling used in some example sentences:

  • An ornate chandelier hung from the ceiling.
  • We are going to paint our ceiling blue.
  • I want to smash the glass ceiling by becoming head of the company.

Ceiling comes from the mid-fourteenth century ‘celynge', which comes from the Middle English verb ‘ceil’ meaning ‘to put a cover or ceiling over’. ‘Ceil’ comes from the Old French ‘celer’ meaning ‘conceal’, which in turn comes from the Latin ‘celare’ meaning ‘to hide’.

Ceiling is an example of the 'i' before 'e' except after 'c' rule. 

Develop your knowledge in these Spellzone units:

Test yourself on ceiling and other spelling words in these word lists:


12 Apr 2023
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"Thank goodness for Spellzone during this remote learning phase. The site is easy for students to navigate independently and they're really enjoying the activities and spelling games. You get an awful lot for your money with Spellzone. Really reassuring is the very prompt response with helpdesk queries. I've very rarely needed the helpdesk, but when I have, the issue has been addressed and sorted within a very short time."

Sarah Taggart, Oasis Academy Lord's Hill