rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryRoot: -io
Latin

-io

an action, process, or result

Forms

  • -io
  • -ion- — The longer form used before Latin endings.
  • -ion — The form carried into many English nouns.

Origin

An old Latin noun ending, inherited from earlier Indo-European word formation.

Note

The ending can name both an activity and what that activity produces.

166 / 423
A volunteer deals out identical food parcels from a full crate to a short line of recipients.
noun

distribution

dis-trih-BYOO-shun/ˌdɪstrɪˈbjuːʃn/

The spreading of something among positions or recipients.

Etymology
disLatinapart, away; reversal or negation
+tributLatinassign, allot, or bestow
+ionLatinan action, process, or result

Individual allotment supplies the central image: dividing something into portions and parceling them out. The meaning broadened from allocation to spreading things out, including over a surface.

Full entry

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