DictionaryRoot: -atio
Latin

-atio

an action, process, or result

Forms

  • -atio
  • -ation- — Latin stem used outside the basic noun form.
  • -ation — Borrowed into English through French and Latin.

Origin

Latin -a-, associated with one class of verbs, plus the action-noun suffix -tio.

Note

The same formation can name either doing something or what the action produces.

181 / 374
noun

foundation

fown-DAY-shuhn/faʊnˈdeɪʃn/

The supporting base on which a structure rests.

The house rests on a concrete foundation that keeps it stable.

A cutaway view of a small modern brick house exposes its substantial concrete foundation beneath the ground, supporting the walls and distributing their weight in firm soil.
Etymology

From fundare, “to lay a foundation,” the noun first named the action of founding. It came to name the solid base of a structure, connecting the act of establishing something with the support beneath it.

In context

Engineers.SG1:11
this is the foundation of some kind of game or simulation it has the basics
Cold War: City State - SingaporeJS

More examples

  • Workers pour the foundation before building the walls.
  • The inspector checks the old barn's foundations for cracks.
  • Daily practice builds a strong foundation for learning the piano.

Forms

foundation · foundations

foundational adjective — Providing the basic support for something.

Similar words

base
Names any bottom support, not necessarily part of a building.
footing
Specifically names the lowest part that spreads a structure's weight.