-ion
UK/ɪən/US/aɪən/
-ion suffix: an action or process, or the result of an action or process.
Suffix (1)
-ion (noun-forming suffix, countable and uncountable, plural -ions)
Suffix (2)
-ion (noun-forming suffix, plural -ions or -ia)
- An anthropometric reference point.
- dactylion
- Especially craniometric points
- gnathion
Suffix (3)
-ion (noun-forming suffix, plural -ions or -ia)
- Together with apo- and peri-, forms names of specific apoapsides and periapsides.
- periareion
Synonyms of -ion
- -ale
Forms of -ion
| plural | -ions |
|---|---|
| plural | -ia |
Origin of -ion
Reanalysed from -ation, -tion, from Middle French -tion, -cion, from Latin -tiō. By surface analysis, this suffix is added to verbs derived from Latin perfect participle stems.
Possibly reanalysed from inion, which is of Ancient Greek origin. In many cases also analysable as the neuter form of an Ancient Greek adjective in -ιος (-ios).
From Ancient Greek ἀπόγειον (apógeion, “apogee”), containing -ιον (-ion). Compare also -ium.
Words formed from -ion
- omphalion
- phalangion
- pternion
- sellion
- sphyrion
- stomiontrochanterion
- symphysion
- xiphion
Questions about -ion
- What does -ion mean?
- -ion means an action or process, or the result of an action or process.
- What part of speech is -ion?
- -ion is a suffix.
- How do you pronounce -ion?
- -ion is pronounced /ɪən/ (UK).
Words near -ion in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: -ion (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “-ion.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/-ion. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.