Combination
nounA joining or blending of two or more different things into a single whole.
How to spell combination
11 letters · 4 syllables
How to pronounce combination
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does combination mean?
- nounA joining or blending of two or more different things into a single whole.
Combination in a sentence
-
The dessert was a rich combination of chocolate and orange.
-
Her success came from a combination of talent and hard work.
Where does combination come from?
Language of origin: Latin
The word descends from the Late Latin combinare, meaning 'to join two together', which was built from the prefix com- 'together' and the noun bini 'two by two' or 'in pairs', itself related to bis 'twice'. The literal idea was therefore of pairing things up, joining two items into one. English took the word in the early 1400s through Old French combinaison, originally in fairly technical or scholarly senses about uniting elements. Over time the meaning broadened from strict pairing to any blending or grouping of two or more things, which is why a modern combination can involve many parts rather than just two. The hidden 'bin' root, the same that gives us 'binary' and 'binoculars', explains the single 'm' followed by the 'bin' that writers sometimes muddle.
How the word is built
- com- (together)
- bin (from bini, two by two/pair)
- -ation (noun of action)
Fix your spelling for good.
Spelling Garden finds the words you personally get wrong, plants them in a garden, and brings each one back just before you would have forgotten it.
Just five minutes a day is all it takes to fix your spelling.