Ification

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A noun-forming suffix attached to word stems to name the process or result of making something into a given state or form, as in simplification
2. An ending added to a root to create a noun for the act of turning something into, or becoming, a particular quality or kind
3. A word element used to build nouns that denote the action or outcome of making or changing something into a specified condition

Etymology: "-ification" is a suffix rather than a word in its own right, and it is one of the most productive endings in English for turning verbs into nouns. It comes from Latin "-ificatio," a noun formed from the verb stem "-ificare," which combines "-ficare" (from "facere," to make or do) with the connecting vowel "-i-." So a word ending in "-ification" names the act or result of making something into the thing the base describes: "classification" is the act of making things into classes, and "modification" the act of making something different. English took the pattern from Latin and French during the late Middle Ages and early modern period, and it grew steadily after that. Many "-ify" verbs were borrowed or coined first, and their "-ification" nouns usually followed. Scientists and writers in the 17th to 19th centuries built many of the most familiar examples, such as "purification," "electrification," and "industrialization," using the Latin pattern to name new processes.