Insulation

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌɪnsjʊˈleɪʃən/

Definitions

1. Material used to prevent the transfer of heat, sound, or electricity between spaces or objects
2. A substance designed to reduce heat, sound, or electrical transmission between environments or components
3. A product aimed at minimizing the movement of heat, sound, or electrical energy between areas or items

Etymology: The word is built from "insulate" plus the suffix "-ion", so its history really begins with the verb. "Insulate" comes from Latin "insula", meaning "island", and the link is literal: to insulate something was to make it into an island, cut off from its surroundings. The verb entered English in the 17th century, and the English-language sense of isolating a body from the flow of electricity, heat or sound came later, as the technical uses of the verb developed. The noun follows the familiar path of Latin nouns ending in "-ātiō", which passed through Old French "-ation" and reached Middle English as "-aciоun" before becoming the modern "-ation" and, after "insulate" was formed, the "-ion" ending. The suffix is ordinary; what makes the noun interesting is that its core image of an island still sits underneath every use of it.

Synonyms: protection, separation, isolation, buffering, safeguarding

Antonyms: exposure, conductivity, transmission, contact, interaction