radiation

English

Etymology

    Borrowed from Latin radiatio, radiationis. By surface analysis, radiate +‎ -ion.

    Pronunciation

    • (UK, US, Canada) IPA(key): /ˌɹeɪ.diˈeɪ.ʃən/
      • Audio (London):(file)
      • Audio (Southern England):(file)
      • Audio (Texas):(file)
    • (General Australian) IPA(key): /ˌɹæɪ.diˈæɪ.ʃən/
    • (some Ghanaian speakers) IPA(key): /ɹæ.diˈeɪ.ʃən/

    Noun

    radiation (countable and uncountable, plural radiations)

    1. The shooting forth of anything from a point or surface, like diverging rays of light.
      heat radiation
    2. The process of radiating waves or particles.
    3. The transfer of energy via radiation.
      Coordinate terms: convection, conduction
    4. Radioactive energy.
    5. (evolutionary theory, countable) A rapid diversification of an ancestral species into many new forms.
      • 2014, Elizabeth Kolbert, chapter 8, in The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, Henry Holt and Company:
        So the question is: have plants and animals retained over this huge amount of time—whole radiations of mammals have come and gone in this period—have they retained these potentially costly characteristics?
      • 2016, Donald R. Prothero, The Princeton Field Guide to Prehistoric Mammals, page 136:
        The second [canid group] is the radiation of dogs in South America that began when the first canids arrived about 3 Ma, after crossing the Panama land bridge (Fig. 5.4).

    Derived terms

    Translations

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    See also

    Anagrams

    French

    Etymology

    Borrowed from Latin radiātiōnem.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ʁa.dja.sjɔ̃/
    • Audio:(file)

    Noun

    radiation f (plural radiations)

    1. radiation (all meanings)

    Derived terms

    Descendants

    • Romanian: radiație
    • Turkish: radyasyon

    Further reading