dilation
English
Etymology
From dilate + -ion, late 16th c.
Pronunciation
- (UK, US) IPA(key): /daɪˈleɪʃən/
Audio (UK) (file)
- Rhymes: -eɪʃən
Noun
dilation (countable and uncountable, plural dilations)
- The act of dilating.
- State of being dilated; expansion; dilatation.
- Synonyms: expansion, dilatation
- (obsolete) Delay.
- Synonyms: cunctation, hold-up; see also Thesaurus:delay
- 1612–1626, [Joseph Hall], “(please specify the page)”, in [Contemplations vpon the Principall Passages of the Holy Storie], volume (please specify |volume=II, V, or VI), London, OCLC 54134621:
- The wise queen, however she might seem to have a fair opportunity offered to her suit, finds it not good to apprehend it too suddenly; as desiring by this small dilation to prepare the ear and heart of the king for so important a request
- (mathematics) In morphology, a basic operation (denoted ⊕) that usually uses a structuring element for probing and expanding the shapes contained in the input image.
Derived terms
- dilation and curettage
- intact dilation and extraction
- time dilation
Translations
act of dilating — See also translations at dilatation
|
state of being dilated — See also translations at dilatation
|
delay — see delay
Anagrams
- dial into, dilatino, laid into
French
Noun
dilation f (plural dilations)
- dilation
Further reading
- “dilation”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Old French
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin dīlātiō.
Noun
dilation f (oblique plural dilations, nominative singular dilation, nominative plural dilations)
- dissemination; spreading (of rumors, stories, etc.)