-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.

207 / 371

noun

insertion

in-SUR-shun/ɪnˈsɜːrʃn/

The act of putting something into something else, or the thing put in.

The envelope's insertion into the mailbox begins as it passes through the slot.

A woman pushes a plain envelope halfway into the narrow slot of a simple mailbox, clearly showing one object entering another.

Etymology

inLatinin, into, on, upon

+sertLatinjoin, link, or arrange

+ionLatinan action, process, or result

The combination of “in” and “join” produced a verb meaning “to graft or implant.” Insertion names that act of placing something within something else.

In context

National Academies - Earth and Life Studies37:12

CO2 is actually inserting into the metal-amine bonds. And when you do that insertion, uh you transfer a proton

The Advances in the Chemistry of CO2 Capture Webinar

More examples

The editor marks two insertions in the revised draft.
A local anesthetic numbs the area before insertion of the needle.
The final paragraph is a last-minute insertion.

Forms

insertion · insertions

insert verb — To put something into something else.

Similar words

placement: Means positioning something, not necessarily putting it inside something.
addition: Emphasizes adding something extra rather than putting something inside.