-ation

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | 700+ words | Copyright

-ation ME. -acio(u)n — OF. (mod. -ation) — L. -ātiō, -ātiōn-, the form resulting from the addition of -tiōn- -TION to verb-stems in -ā-. The great majority of Eng. words in -ation have corr. vbs. in -ATE3, as creation, moderation, saturation, beside create, moderate, saturate; some have no such corr. vb., as capitation, constellation, duration; others are formed directly on vbs. in -IZE, as civilization, organization. A large number have corr. vbs. of other forms, as apply and application, publish and publication, prove and probation. Others have the appearance of being formed on Eng. vbs., as alteration, causation, formation; hence the practice (from XVI) of adding the suffix to miscellaneous vbs., as botheration, flirtation, starvation.

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

T. F. HOAD. "-ation." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "-ation." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-ation.html

T. F. HOAD. "-ation." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-ation.html

Learn more about citation styles