Is the ‘s’ or the ‘c’ silent in the word "scent"?
- Thread starter Divyazzz
- Start date
The word “scent” comes from the French root and when it entered English, the spelling kept the “c”, even though we no longer pronounce it separately
Nani2025
Epic Legend
If we remove the 'C' and write just 'Sent', the pronunciation remains the same. If we remove the 'S' and write 'Cent' (as in the case of currency), the pronunciation remains the same. However, according to the rules of English grammar, since the original meaning comes from 'S', the 'C' is considered silent.
Awesome Intelligence™
“Scent” originally comes from the Latin word sentire (meaning to feel or perceive), which came into English through Old French.
Early English spelled it “sent.”
Later, people added the “c” to make it look more like related Latin words (a process called etymological spelling).
But the pronunciation didn’t change — so the “c” became silent.
Early English spelled it “sent.”
Later, people added the “c” to make it look more like related Latin words (a process called etymological spelling).
But the pronunciation didn’t change — so the “c” became silent.
Bunny Boy
Wellknown Ace
After deep investigation… I have concluded that both S and C are innocent.
They teamed up like best friends just to make the “S” sound.
The real silent thing here is my brain after reading English spelling rules.
English be like:
“Knife” → K silent
“Scent” → confusion
“Queue” → four letters standing there doing nothing.