inflection
- inflection
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 change of a curve or arc from convex to concave or the reverse
5. Gram.
a) the change of form by which some words indicate certain grammatical relationships, as number, case, gender, or tense
b) an inflected form
c) an inflectional element, as those bound forms used in English to form the plural and possessive case of nouns (ship s, ship 's) and the past tense and third person singular, present indicative, of verbs (he shipp ed, he ship s)
English World dictionary.
V. Neufeldt.
2014.
:
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 — 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. [1913 Webster] 2. A bend; a fold; a curve; a turn; a twist. [1913 Webster] 3. A slide,… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
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 — 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
