-tion

-tion ME. -cio(u)n, repr. (O)F. -tion, earlier -cion, -ciun, repr. L. -tiō, -ōn-, comp. suffix f. -t- of a pp. stem + -iō, -ōn- -ION; orig. expressing the state of being what the pp. imports, e.g. complētiō COMPLETION, thence transferred to the action or process involved, and so acquiring a concr. or quasi-concr. notion, as in dictiō DICTION, nātiō birth, NATION, orātiō mode of speaking, ORATION.
So -tious repr. L. -tiōsus, forming adjs. rel. to sbs. in -tion, as ambition/ambitious, nutrition/nutritious.

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

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

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

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