activity
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle French activité, from Latin activitas. Equivalent to active + -ity.
Pronunciation[edit]
- IPA(key): /ækˈtɪ.vɪ.ti/, /ækˈtɪ.vɪ.tiː/, /ækˈtɪ.və.ti/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (UK male) (file) - Rhymes: -ɪvɪti
Noun[edit]
activity (countable and uncountable, plural activities)
- (uncountable) The state or quality of being active; activeness.
- Pit row was abuzz with activity.
- (countable) Something done as an action or a movement.
- The activity for the morning was a walk to the store.
- (countable) Something done for pleasure or entertainment, especially one involving movement or an excursion.
- 2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36:
- Like most human activities, ballooning has sponsored heroes and hucksters and a good deal in between. For every dedicated scientist patiently recording atmospheric pressure and wind speed while shivering at high altitudes, there is a carnival barker with a bevy of pretty girls willing to dangle from a basket or parachute down to earth.
- An increasing number of sports activities are on offer at the university.
- Quilting can be an enjoyable activity.
- (grammar, semantics) The lexical aspect (aktionsart) of verbs or predicates that change over time and have no natural end point.
- 1997, Robert van Valin and Randy LaPolla, Syntax[1], page 92:
- […] distinctions among states of affairs are reflected to a striking degree in distinctions among Aktionsart types. That is, situations are expressed by state verbs or predicates, events by achievement verbs or predicates, and actions by activity verbs or predicates.
Usage notes[edit]
- Adjectives often used with "activity": increased, decreased, high, low, volcanic, seismic, eruptive, intellectual, physical, mental, spiritual, muscular, cerebral, favorite, recreational, practical, cultural, artistic, literary, musical, political, diplomatic, military, domestic, voluntary, missionary, chemical, optical, productive, reproductive, industrial, commercial, etc.
Synonyms[edit]
- See also Thesaurus:activity
Antonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
- activity book
- activity stream
- activity trap
- beehive of activity
- catalytic activity
- extravehicular activity
- hive of activity
- nonactivity
- optical activity
- overactivity
- radioactivity
- self-activity
- subactivity
- ultrahazardous activity
- underactivity
- zone of polarizing activity
Translations[edit]
state or quality of being active
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something done as an action or a movement
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something done for pleasure or entertainment
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Further reading[edit]
- activity in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- activity in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
Categories:
- English terms borrowed from Middle French
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English words suffixed with -ity
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɪvɪti
- Rhymes:English/ɪvɪti/4 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- en:Grammar
- en:Semantics