investigation
/ˌɪnˌvestəˈɡeɪʃən/in-veh-stuh-GAY-shuhn
/ˌɪnˌvɛstəˈɡeɪʃən/in-veh-stuh-GAY-shuhn
Meaningthe act of tracking in
Common meaning: a careful inquiry
- inin, into; (before adjectives) not
- vestiga footprintLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1981 · scan
- atverb or adjective ending: to make, having
- ionnoun ending: act or result
‘in, into’ + ‘a footprint’ → investigation
Journey through time
- Latinvestīgium, -ī‘a footprint’
- Englishinvestigate‘to examine closely’
- Englishformed in English from investigateinvestigation‘a careful inquiry’ · 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 investigate + -ion.
Dictionary: Skeat (1898), INVESTIGATE, p.301 · scan
Roots
- vestīgium, -ī Latin “a footprint”
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