DECLENSION Meaning and
Definition
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Declension refers to a grammatical term used in various languages, including Latin, Greek, and some other inflected languages. It is a system in which nouns, pronouns, and adjectives undergo various changes or inflections to indicate their grammatical case, number, and gender.
In the context of Latin, declension determines the changes that nouns and adjectives undergo to convey different grammatical functions. These changes involve altering the endings of words according to specific patterns based on case, number, and gender. Latin nouns, pronouns, and adjectives can belong to various declension classes, each of which has its own set of endings and pattern of inflection.
In English grammar, declension is less prominent and mainly limited to pronouns. For instance, pronouns such as "he", "she", and "it" undergo changes to represent different cases like subjective, objective, and possessive. However, the declension patterns in English are relatively simpler than those found in Latin or Greek.
Overall, declension is a grammatical mechanism that establishes a system of inflectional changes in words to indicate the role they play in a sentence. It enables the identification of case, number, and sometimes gender, thus facilitating accurate interpretation and understanding of grammatical relationships within a language.
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A falling or declining toward a worse state; decay; in gram., the variation or change in the termination of a noun, an adjective, or a pronoun.
Etymological and pronouncing dictionary of the English language. By Stormonth, James, Phelp, P. H. Published 1874.
Common Misspellings for DECLENSION
Etymology of DECLENSION
The word "declension" comes from the Latin term "declinatio", which itself is derived from the verb "declinare". "Declinare" combines the prefix "de-" (meaning "down" or "away from") with the verb "clinare" (meaning "to bend" or "to incline"). In Latin, "declinare" originally referred to the act of bending or leaning something physically. However, it later took on a figurative sense and began to be used to describe the bending or variation of words in different grammatical cases. This evolved into the modern English term "declension", which refers to the inflection of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and articles to indicate their case, gender, number, etc.
Similar spelling words for DECLENSION
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