Covenant or Convenant? Which is Correct?

Spelling / By

You are trying to write and formal paper, and you get to a word that you think you are pronouncing correctly, but you are sure if it is “covenant” or “convenant.” Which is correct?

“Covenant” is the spelling, meaning to have a formal agreement or contract with someone. Although you may hear some English speakers mistakenly pronounce the word “convenant,” this is not a word in the English language and is not accepted as a word by most English speakers. 

If you are not familiar with the word “covenant” and hear some say, “convenant,” it can be easy to get the words mixed up while trying to spell it out. Keep Reading to learn more about “covenant” and how you can use it.

What Does “Covenant” Mean?

“Covenant” means to enter into a formal agreement with someone. This is usually an agreement surrounding something religious, such as marriage and renewing your faith in the God you worship.

Example:

  • I want to renew my covenant with God.
  • I join you two today in a covenant of marriage.

In each example above, there is a promise, or an agreement, being made.

Using “Covenant” in Business

“Covenant” can also mean a legal contract between multiple people, companies, businesses, or even countries. In this case, the “covenant” has to be between two people or more.

Example:

  • The covenants allow for inspections every 6 months to make sure the building is up to code.
  • The covenant will be honored by all parties involved.

Notice that you can almost replace “covenant” with a contract in both sentences.

Why Do People Confuse “Covenant” with “Convenant”?

“Convenant” is a misspelling of “covenant” and is actually not a word itself.

The misspelling could have started with people confusing the word “contract” with  “covenant.” This could occur especially in matters of business.

Example:

  • The contract prohibits third-party sales.
  • The convenant prohibits third-party sales.

People could also be confusing the words “consummate,” which means to make official or binding with “covenant” in terms of talking about marriage.

Example:

  • Haven’t you consummated the marriage yet? What are you waiting for?
  • Haven’t you convenant the marriage yet? What are you waiting for?

Final Thoughts

“Covenant” is a word some people regularly confuse with “convenant.” Although “convenant” is not a word in the English language, there are other words that start with “con” that could contribute to the confusion.

 

Conor
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