Ideation

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌaɪ.diˈeɪ.ʃən/

Definitions

1. The act of forming and conceptualizing thoughts involves both generating new ideas and enhancing existing concepts
2. The process through which thoughts are created requires both the invention of new ideas and the improvement of previously established ones
3. The method of generating original thoughts encompasses creating new ideas while refining established concepts

Etymology: Ideation is a plain formation: the verb "ideate" with the noun-forming suffix "-ion" added. The verb "ideate" was built from "idea," which reaches English through Latin "idea" from Ancient Greek "idéa," a word tied to the Greek verb "ideîn," meaning "to see." An idea was, at root, something seen with the mind's eye, a visible form or shape. The "-ion" ending arrived in English by a long route: it passed from Latin "-tiō" through Old French "-ation" and into Middle English before settling as the familiar "-ion" of modern English. Added to "ideate," it names the act or process of forming ideas, so "ideation" describes the mental work that produces new concepts rather than the concepts themselves.

Synonyms: conceptualization, formation, creation