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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.

296 / 398
A divine hand holds a life path already drawn from birth to death.
noun

predestination

pree-des-tih-NAY-shun/ˌpriːdestɪˈneɪʃn/

The belief that events are determined in advance, especially by divine will.

Etymology
preLatinbefore, in front of
+destinLatinappoint, determine
+ationLatinan action, process, or result

The pieces express determining something beforehand. In the theological sense, the determining agent is God: salvation or other outcomes are understood as settled by divine appointment rather than left undecided.

Full entry

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