decline

/dɪkˈlaɪn/dih-KLYN

Meaningto lean down

Common meaning: to slope down

Other meanings: to refuse

dedown, away, off; undoing
clinto lean, slopeLiddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. 815 · scan

‘down, away, off’ + ‘to lean, slope’ → decline

Journey through time

Latindeclinare
Old Frenchdeclinersource
Middle Englishdeclinensource
Englishdecline‘to slope down’ · today

de- also in: deter decamp decide deduce defame

clin also in: clinic climax incline recline

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: Built on Greek κλίνω ‘to lean, slope’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), entry κλίνω, p. 815 · dictionary scan; Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry CLIMAX, p. 114 · dictionary scan

Roots

κλίνω Greek “to lean, slope”

Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app