Pullulation

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌpʌljʊˈleɪʃən/

Definitions

1. The process of sprouting, budding, or multiplying rapidly by producing new growth or offspring in quick succession
2. The act of rapidly sprouting, budding, or reproducing through successive generations of new growth and offspring
3. The phenomenon of quick multiplication through continuous budding, sprouting, or the swift production of offspring and new living matter

Etymology: "Pullulation" is simply "pullulate" with the noun-forming suffix "-ion" attached, so its history is that of the verb it comes from. "Pullulate" comes from Latin "pullulare," meaning to sprout, bud, or put forth new shoots, and it is built on "pullulus," a diminutive of "pullus," the word for a young animal, chick, or sprout. That link explains the sense of the verb: its earliest English uses describe things budding or sprouting, and the Latin root carries the image of something young and newly emerging. The English noun shows the verb's meaning in its most active form. Where "pullulate" describes a thing swarming with new growth, "pullulation" names that process itself, the rapid multiplication of living things. The suffix "-ion," inherited from Latin "-io" through French, turns the action into a noun of process, the same pattern found in words such as "creation" and "emulation."

Synonyms: multiplication, proliferation, reproduction

Antonyms: decline, diminution