Inflection
- Inflection
- Inflection In*flec"tion, n. [L. inflexio : cf. F. inflexion.
See {Inflect}.] [Written also {inflecxion}.]
1. The act of inflecting, or the state of being inflected.
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2. A bend; a fold; a curve; a turn; a twist.
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3. A slide, modulation, or accent of the voice; as, the
rising and the falling inflection.
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4. (Gram.) The variation or change which words undergo to
mark case, gender, number, comparison, tense, person,
mood, voice, etc.
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5. (Mus.)
(a) Any change or modification in the pitch or tone of the
voice.
(b) A departure from the monotone, or reciting note, in
chanting.
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6. (Opt.) Same as {Diffraction}.
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{Point of inflection} (Geom.), the point on opposite sides of
which a curve bends in contrary ways.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
2000.
:
Look at other dictionaries:
inflection — 1. Inflection is the process by which words change their form by the addition of suffixes or other means in accordance with their grammatical role. Inflection of nouns usually involves the addition of s or es to form plurals (book / books, church … Modern English usage
inflection — inflection, intonation, accent are comparable when they designate a particular manner of employing the tones of the voice in speech. Inflection implies change in pitch or tone; it often suggests a variation expressive of emotion or sentiment, and … New Dictionary of Synonyms
inflection — early 15c., from M.Fr. inflexion and directly from L. inflexionem (nom. inflexio) a bending, inflection, modification, noun of action from pp. stem of inflectere (see INFLECT (Cf. inflect)). For spelling, see CONNECTION (Cf. connection).… … Etymology dictionary
inflection — [in flek′shən] n. [L inflexio < inflexus, pp. of inflectere: see INFLECT] 1. a turning, bending, or curving 2. a turn, bend, or curve 3. any change in tone or pitch of the voice; modulation [to signal a question by a rising inflection] 4. a… … English World dictionary
inflection — I noun accent, accentuation, cadence, emphasis, expression, intonation, modulation, pitch, stress, tone, voice change associated concepts: demeanor of a witness, polygraph test II index intonation, stress (accent) … Law dictionary
inflection — inflection, inflexion англ. [инфле/кшн] муз. интонация … Словарь иностранных музыкальных терминов
inflection — [n] accent, intonation articulation, change, emphasis, enunciation, modulation, pitch, pronunciation, sound, timbre, tonality, tone, tone of voice, variation; concepts 65,595 Ant. monotone … New thesaurus
inflection — (chiefly Brit. also inflexion) ► NOUN 1) Grammar a change in the form of a word (typically the ending) to express a grammatical function or attribute such as tense, mood, person, number, case, and gender. 2) a variation in intonation or pitch of… … English terms dictionary
Inflection — In grammar, inflection or inflexion is the way language handles grammatical relations and relational categories such as tense, mood, voice, aspect, person, number, gender, case. In covert inflection, such categories are not overtly expressed.… … Wikipedia
inflection — inflectionless, adj. /in flek sheuhn/, n. 1. modulation of the voice; change in pitch or tone of voice. 2. Also, flection. Gram. a. the process or device of adding affixes to or changing the shape of a base to give it a different syntactic… … Universalium
