-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.

137 / 371

noun

disposition

dis-puh-ZISH-uhn/ˌdɪspəˈzɪʃn/

A person's usual way of feeling and behaving.

Her cheerful disposition remains evident as she greets neighbors in the rain.

A naturally cheerful older white woman greets neighbors with a warm smile even on a rainy day.

Etymology

disLatinapart, away; reversal or negation

+positLatinput, place

+ionLatinan action, process, or result

From placing things in order came the idea of an arrangement. The temperament sense developed through astrology, where a planet's position was treated as a determining influence on a person's frame of mind.

In context

Town Meeting TV14:50

i never can see him but i'm heartburned an hour after he is of a very melancholy disposition

Shakespeare's Much Ado (About Nothing) 9/26/2021

More examples

He had a quiet disposition.
Their dispositions differed greatly.
She admired his generous disposition.

Forms

disposition · dispositions

Similar words

temperament: A close equivalent for usual emotional character.
mood: A temporary state rather than a habitual tendency.