Attenuacioun

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act of making something thin, fine or slender ; the lessening of the strength, force or intensity of something
2. A process of thinning out a substance or body ; a weakening or diminishing of power, vigor or effect
3. Drawing something finer or narrower ; a decline in the strength or potency of a thing over time

Etymology: "Attenuacioun" is a Middle English spelling of the word now written "attenuation." It comes through Old French from the Latin "attenuatio," a noun from "attenuare," meaning "to make thin." That verb combines "ad-" (toward) with "tenuare," from "tenuis," "thin" or "slender." Its earliest sense was literal: making something slender or reducing its bulk. From that physical sense, the idea of thinning spread to strength and force. Something attenuated was weakened, diluted, or reduced in power. Later writers applied it to measurable reductions, such as a signal losing strength over distance or light dimming as it passes through a substance. The modern scientific uses keep the same core idea of a gradual loss of intensity.