declension
/dɪˈklɛn.ʃən/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.31 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The act of declining a word; the act of listing the inflections of a noun, pronoun or adjective in order.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A way of categorizing nouns, pronouns, or adjectives according to the inflections they receive.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Refinement of feeling, intellectual tastes, and a noble hospitality, were among the features of his character; and hoary years brought no mental declension, and drew no shade over the ardent affections by which he was distinguished, and in whose reciprocity, was his undeclining solace."
- "The custom of rolling a burning wheel down a hill […] might well pass for an imitation of the sun's course in the sky, and the imitation would be especially appropriate on Midsummer Day when the sun's annual declension begins."
- "a page full of declensions"
- "In Latin, 'amicus' belongs to the second declension. Most second-declension nouns end in '-i' in the genitive singular and '-um' in the accusative singular."
Etymology
From late Middle English declinson, from Middle French declinaison (Modern French: déclinaison), from Latin dēclīnātiō. Doublet of declination.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *ḱley-, declinson, declinaison, dēclīnātiō