DictionaryRoot: -ation
English

-ation

an action, process, or result

Forms

  • -ation

Origin

Borrowed through French from Latin -atio, the form of an action ending used with many -are verbs.

Note

English speakers later attached this ending to bases that were not themselves Latin verbs.

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noun

articulation

A joint or way in which parts fit together.

The articulation at the elbow allows the arm to bend.

Etymology

The Latin root concerns joints and jointed parts. Articulation can therefore name either the joint itself or the way separate parts connect and fit together.

More examples

  • Arthritis causes pain at the articulation between the thumb and wrist.
  • The diagram shows the articulation of the ribs with the spine.
  • The robot has flexible articulations between its arm segments.

Forms

articulation · articulations

articular adjective — Relating to a joint or joints.

Similar words

joint
The usual term for a connection between bones or movable parts.
connection
Broader term for any link, including fixed or nonphysical ones.