inflection

For inflection templates, see Wiktionary:Inflection templates.

English

Alternative forms

• inflexion

Etymology

From the English inflexion, from Middle French inflexion, from Latin inflexio, inflexionis (“a bending away from”); the spelling inflection is due to influence from correction.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪnˈflɛkʃən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛkʃən
• Hyphenation: in‧flec‧tion

Noun

inflection (countable and uncountable, plural inflections)

1. (grammar) A change in the form of a word that reflects a change in grammatical function.

   an inflection for gender, number, or tense

2. A change in pitch or tone of voice.
3. (mathematics) A change in curvature from concave to convex or from convex to concave.
4. A turning away from a straight course.
5. (optometry) diffraction

Synonyms

• flection, flexion

Hyponyms

• (grammar): conjugation
• (grammar): declension, declination

Related terms

• inflect
• inflected

Translations

change in the form of a word that reflects a change in grammatical function

• Armenian: թեքում (hy) (tʿekʿum)
• Bulgarian: склонение n (sklonenie)
• Catalan: flexió f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 詞形變化, 词形变化 (cí xíng biànhuà)

• Czech: flexe f, ohýbání (cs) n
• Danish: ^{(please verify)} bøjning (da)
• Dutch: verbuiging (nl) f, vervoeging (nl) f
• Finnish: taivutus (fi)
• French: flexion (fr) f, inflexion (fr) f
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Flexion (de) f, Beugung (de) f, Biegung (de) f
• Greek:

  Classical: κλίσις f (klísis), κίνημα n (kínēma), κίνησις f (kínēsis)

  Modern: κλίση (el) f (klísi)

• Hungarian: rag (hu)
• Icelandic: beyging (is) f
• Indonesian: infleksi (id)
• Italian: desinenza (it) f

• Japanese: 語形変化 (ごけいへんか, gokei henka)
• Korean: 굴절 (ko) (gul-jeol, 屈折), 어형변화 (eo-hyeong-byeon-hwa, 語形變化)
• Latin: flexio f, flexura (la) f
• Latvian: locīšana f
• Malagasy: fihilan-teny
• Manx: yn-filley m
• Mongolian: хувирал (mn) (huviral)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bøyning m, f, bøying m, f

  Nynorsk: bøying f

• Polish: odmiana (pl) f
• Portuguese: flexão (pt) f
• Romanian: flexiune (ro) f
• Russian: фле́ксия (ru) f (fléksija) (formal), оконча́ние (ru) n (okončánije) (formal), словоизмене́ние (ru) n (slovoizmenénije), измене́ние фо́рмы сло́ва n (izmenénije fórmy slóva)
• Serbo-Croatian: fleksija (sh) f
• Spanish: flexión (es) f
• Swedish: böjning (sv)
• Tagalog: sabaylo
• Tajik: оҳанг (tg) (ohang)

change in pitch or tone of voice

• Catalan: inflexió f
• Danish: modulation
• Finnish: äänenkorkeuden muutos (of pitch), äänensävyn muutos (of tone)
• Icelandic: raddblær m
• Mongolian: ялгаллахуй (jalgallahuj)
• Polish: modulacja f

• Portuguese: inflexão (pt) f, entonação f
• Romanian: inflexiune (ro) f
• Russian: модуля́ция (ru) f (moduljácija)
• Serbo-Croatian: infleksija (sh) f
• Spanish: inflexión (es) f

change in curvature from concave to convex or from convex to concave

• Danish: vendepunkt
• Dutch: buigpunt (nl) n
• Finnish: käännepiste
• French: point d'inflexion
• German: Wendepunkt (de) m
• Greek: κάμψη (el) f (kámpsi), λύγισμα (el) n (lýgisma)
• Hungarian: inflexió (hu)

• Manx: aachassey m
• Portuguese: inflexão (pt) f
• Romanian: inflexiune (ro) f
• Russian: переги́б (ru) n (peregíb), сгиба́ние (ru) n (sgibánije), (medical) фле́ксия (ru) f (fléksija)
• Serbo-Croatian: infleksija (sh) f
• Spanish: punto de inflexión (es)

turning away from a straight course

• Armenian: թեքում (hy) (tʿekʿum)
• Danish: afvigelse
• Dutch: bocht (nl)
• Finnish: suunnanmuutos
• French: inflexion (fr)

• Manx: lhoobey m
• Portuguese: inflexão (pt) f, desvio (pt) m
• Russian: отклоне́ние (ru) n (otklonénije)
• Serbo-Croatian: otklon (sh) m
• Spanish: inflexión (es)

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

• Welsh: ^{(please verify)} treiglad m

Further reading

• xkcd