-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.

230 / 371

noun

liquefaction

lik-wuh-FAK-shun/lˌɪkwʌfˈækʃʌn/

The process of becoming liquid or beginning to behave like a liquid.

The melting ice cube undergoes liquefaction until only a puddle remains.

Three consecutive views of same ice cube changing from solid to slushy to a puddle on a warm plain plate, no labels.

Etymology

liqueLatinto be fluid or clear

+factLatindo, make

+ionLatinan action, process, or result

The roots combine to mean “make fluid,” and the noun ending names that action as a process. Liquefaction therefore describes the change into a liquid state, rather than the liquid produced.

In context

Whispers of History23:54

They understood that saturated ground turns into a deadly slurry during an earthquake, a process modern engineers call liquefaction.

How EARLY Builders Formed Earthquake-Resistant Design With Primitive Tools

More examples

Cooling the gas under pressure causes liquefaction.
Heating the wax causes liquefaction.
Engineers test the soil for its risk of liquefaction.

Forms

liquefaction

liquefy verb — To become liquid or make something liquid.

Similar words

melting: Specifically describes a solid becoming liquid, usually through heating.
condensation: Specifically describes a gas or vapor becoming liquid.