inflation

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Wikipedia

Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Pronunciation 1.3 Noun 1.3.1 Antonyms 1.3.2 Derived terms 1.3.3 Related terms 1.3.4 Translations 1.3.5 References 2 French 2.1 Pronunciation 2.2 Etymology 2.3 Noun 2.3.1 Antonyms

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

From Middle English, from Latin īnflātiō (“‘expansion", "blowing up’”), from īnfātus, the perfect passive participle of īnflō (“‘blow into", "expand’”), from in (“‘into’”) + flō (“‘blow’”).

[edit] Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -eɪʃǝn

[edit] Noun

inflation (plural inflations)

1. An act, instance of, or state of expansion or increase in size, especially by injection of a gas.

   The inflation of the balloon took five hours.

2. (economics) An increase in the general level of prices or in the cost of living.
3. (economics) A decline in the value of money.
4. (economics) An increase in the quantity of money. Usually describes the creation of more fiat money or paper tickets by a nation-state. Leads to the devaluation of existing money, and all prices in that money rise. Price increases are a consequence of inflation.
5. Undue expansion or increase, as of academic grades.
6. (cosmology) An extremely rapid expansion of the universe, theorised to have occurred very shortly after the big bang.

[edit] Antonyms

• deflation

[edit] Derived terms

• core inflation
• grade inflation
• hyperinflation
• inflationary
• stagflation
• superinflation
• taxonomic inflation

[edit] Related terms

• inflate
• conflation
• reflation

[edit] Translations

[edit] References

• (cosmology) Burgess & Quevedo, "The Great Cosmic Roller-Coaster Ride", Scientific American, November 2007, pg. 57.

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[edit] French

[edit] Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɛ̃.fla.sjɔ̃/
• Homophones: inflations

[edit] Etymology

See inflation.

[edit] Noun

inflation f. (plural inflations)

1. inflation.

[edit] Antonyms

• déflation