approximation
/əˌpɹɒksəˈmeɪʃən/uh-prahk-suh-MAY-shuhn
/əˌpɹɑksəˈmeɪʃən/uh-prahk-suh-MAY-shuhn
Meaningthe act of approximating
Common meaning: a close estimate
- apto, towards (form of ad-)
- proximnearestLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1482 · scan
- atverb or adjective ending: to make, having
- ionnoun ending: act or result
‘to, towards (form of ad-)’ + ‘nearest’ → approximation
Journey through time
- Latinproximus‘nearest’
- Englishapproximate‘close but not exact’
- Englishformed in English from approximateapproximation‘a close estimate’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from approximate + -ion.
Dictionary: Skeat (1898), APPROXIMATE, p.30 · scan
Roots
- proximus Latin “nearest”
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