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.

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noun

depletion

dih-PLEE-shun/dɪˈpliːʃn/

The reduction or using up of a supply or resource.

The thin layer of remaining grain shows depletion of the supply.

A nearly empty grain storage bin, just a thin layer of kernels left, scooping bowl set nearby.
Etymology
deLatindown, away; removal
+pletLatinfill
+ionLatinan action, process, or result

Depletion names the process of “un-filling,” or taking away contents. Its ancestor specifically named blood-letting, a concrete instance of the removal now expressed more generally as the reduction or exhaustion of a supply.

In context

PPGSP UFSC41:23
the depletion of norms by which political institutions are able to function leading to both the loss of belief in these institutions and a willingness to embrace solutions that promise to bypass these institutions
"Not with a Bang but a Whimper", by Dean Hammer (Capitoline Seminars #005)

More examples

  • Repeated withdrawals caused serious depletion.
  • The report warned of nutrient depletion in the soil.
  • Resource depletion forced a change of plan.

Forms

depletion

deplete verb — reduce or use up a supply

Similar words

reduction
Reduction is any decrease; depletion emphasizes using up a supply.
exhaustion
Exhaustion means a resource is used up completely; depletion can be partial.