Inclinacioun

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A natural bent or leaning of the mind or temperament toward something ; the physical act of bowing or bending the body downward
2. An inherent tendency or disposition toward a particular feeling or course of action ; a stooping or sloping movement of something toward the ground
3. A personal propensity or lean of character toward a certain pursuit ; a downward bend, tilt, or slope in a body or object

Etymology: Middle English "inclinacioun" was a word for a bent or tendency, and its story runs through the Latin verb "inclinare," meaning "to bend toward." The word came into English through Old French "inclination," itself borrowed from Latin "inclinatio," so it carries the same physical image of leaning or tilting that the Latin verb did. The earliest English uses were largely physical, describing a slope or a bowing movement, before the sense of a settled disposition or liking took over. That shift from a body bending toward something to a mind bending toward a preference is the core of the word's development, and it is the same path followed by the modern English "inclination."

Synonyms: inclination, tendency, propensity

Antonyms: aversion, disinclination