*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of -ion

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 English -ion Reanaly

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 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.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
suffix

An action or process, or the result of an action or process. · A state or condition.

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 English -ion Reanalysed from -ation, -tion, from Middle French -tion, -cion, from Latin -tiō. By surface analysis, this suffix is added to verbs derived from Latin perfect participle stems.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Derivation mention-tionfrm
  • Derivation mention-tiōla
Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "-ation",
        "id": "-ation",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "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\nEnglish -ion\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\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-ion\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"-ation\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"-ion\" id=\"English:_-ation\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "frm",
        "3": "-tion"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle French -tion"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "-tiō"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin -tiō"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "-ation",
        "id": "-ation",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "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\nEnglish -ion"
    }
  ],
  "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"
    ],
    [
      "-ation",
      "-ation#English"
    ],
    [
      "Reanalysed",
      "reanalysis"
    ],
    [
      "-ation",
      "-ation#English"
    ],
    [
      "-tion",
      "-tion#English"
    ],
    [
      "-tion",
      "-tion#Middle_French"
    ],
    [
      "-cion",
      "-cion#Middle_French"
    ],
    [
      "-tiō",
      "-tio#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "surface analysis",
      "surface analysis"
    ],
    [
      "perfect participle",
      "perfect participle"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "An action or process, or the result of an action or process.",
        "A state or condition."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "idiomatic",
        "morpheme",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "1f7409089b99c3d8d470eabf586614639c21c9c936588141823a1a5ae8e28683",
      "rawRecordSha256": "a6e6c58d8fb5602d0419f29a0c33c14461dbf5654316d1ffe6709aa42d1b0c16",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 319017
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
suffix

An anthropometric reference point. · Especially craniometric points

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

Possibly reanalysed from inion, which is of Ancient Greek origin. In many cases also analysable as the neuter form of an Ancient Greek adjective in -ιος (-ios).

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "reanalysed",
      "reanalysis"
    ],
    [
      "inion",
      "inion#English"
    ],
    [
      "-ιος",
      "-ιος#Ancient_Greek"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "An anthropometric reference point.",
        "Especially craniometric points"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "e14965197740a8144f4704505cc3b291ddbab083aa9b4b3495f7d14b5bc0114d",
      "rawRecordSha256": "391f07072dc668f991908b7f47ba07ea8adebc8b3b182f5033db7576fe0edf52",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 319018
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
suffix

Together with apo- and peri-, forms names of specific apoapsides and periapsides.

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

From Ancient Greek ἀπόγειον (apógeion, “apogee”), containing -ιον (-ion). Compare also -ium.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "ἀπόγειον",
        "4": "",
        "5": "apogee"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek ἀπόγειον (apógeion, “apogee”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "ἀπόγειον",
      "ἀπόγειον#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "-ιον",
      "-ιον#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "-ium",
      "-ium#Etymology 2"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "Together with apo- and peri-, forms names of specific apoapsides and periapsides."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "b5d0ef14e55760a819d0f89418dad429aded543ecc7a72cde7e5567bc358db7b",
      "rawRecordSha256": "609881f964ffa87c51be3c26b50e5ebaa6286cd0fc3af144ca884301a9981d38",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 319019
    }
  ],
  "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 -ion →

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-LWlvbg