*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of -ation

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin -ātiōlbor. Old French -ationbor. Middle English -acioun English -ation Inherited from Middl

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In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
suffix

An action or process. · The result of an action or process. · A state or quality.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin -ātiōlbor. Old French -ationbor. Middle English -acioun English -ation Inherited from Middle English -acioun, borrowed from Old French -ation, a learned borrowing from Latin -ātiō, from -tiō, from Proto-Italic *-tiō, from Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō, from *-tis + *-Hō. By surface analysis, -ate + -ion.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:-acioun",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "++"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *-tis\nProto-Indo-European *-Hō\nProto-Indo-European *-tiHō\nProto-Italic *-tiō\nLatin -tiō\nLatin -ātiōlbor.\nOld French -ationbor.\nMiddle English -acioun\nEnglish -ation\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"lbor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Learned borrowing from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*-tiHō\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-tis\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-Hō\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*-tiō\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-tiō\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-ātiō\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"lbor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old French\", \"term\" : \"-ation\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"fro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"-acioun\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-ation\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"-ation\">\nInherited from Middle English -acioun, borrowed from Old French -ation, a learned borrowing from Latin -ātiō, from -tiō, from Proto-Italic *-tiō, from Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō, from *-tis + *-Hō."
    },
    {
      "name": "surf",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "-ate",
        "3": "-ion"
      },
      "expansion": "By surface analysis, -ate + -ion"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:-acioun",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "++"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *-tis\nProto-Indo-European *-Hō\nProto-Indo-European *-tiHō\nProto-Italic *-tiō\nLatin -tiō\nLatin -ātiōlbor.\nOld French -ationbor.\nMiddle English -acioun\nEnglish -ation\nInherited from Middle English -acioun, borrowed from Old French -ation, a learned borrowing from Latin -ātiō, from -tiō, from Proto-Italic *-tiō, from Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō, from *-tis + *-Hō."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*-tis",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-tis"
    ],
    [
      "*-Hō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-Hō"
    ],
    [
      "*-tiō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/-tiō"
    ],
    [
      "-tiō",
      "-tio#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-ātiō",
      "-atio#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-ation",
      "-ation#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "-acioun",
      "-acioun#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "-acioun",
      "-acioun#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "-ation",
      "-ation#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "-ātiō",
      "-atio#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-tiō",
      "-tio#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*-tiō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/-tiō"
    ],
    [
      "*-tis",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-tis"
    ],
    [
      "*-Hō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-Hō"
    ],
    [
      "-ate",
      "-ate#English"
    ],
    [
      "-ion",
      "-ion#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Malay",
      "lang_code": "ms",
      "word": "-esen"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Malay",
      "lang_code": "ms",
      "word": "-esyen"
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "An action or process.",
        "The result of an action or process.",
        "A state or quality."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "morpheme",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "48527dfaabed58df50a3b2eabc3ebc6fd286a79fdefcb74ee283f399cf71dbed",
      "rawRecordSha256": "dd2e93937f8404a9ee7fea5ca798f626c8a3e07565d25755731514fa817fb49d",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 358267
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for -ation →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-LWF0aW9u