Condition

How to spell condition

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce condition

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does condition mean?

1. nounThe state that something or someone is in at a particular time.
2. nounA requirement or stipulation that must be met before something else can happen.
3. verbTo train or accustom someone or something to behave or respond in a certain way.

Condition in a sentence

• noun

  The used car was in excellent condition for its age.

• noun

  The bank approved the loan on one strict condition.

• verb

  Trainers can condition a dog to sit at a single hand signal.

• noun

  The surgeon explained that the patient's heart condition was stable.

• noun

  Meeting the deadline was a condition of the contract.

• verb

  Weeks of practice can condition the body to run longer distances.

Where does condition come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word descends from the Latin condicio (often spelled conditio in later texts), which meant 'an agreement, a stipulation, or the terms of a deal'. That noun was built from condicere, 'to agree upon' or 'to settle by talking together', formed from con- ('together') and dicere ('to say, to declare'). Because a bargain sets out the terms under which something happens, the sense drifted from the spoken agreement itself toward the circumstances and requirements attached to it, and eventually toward the general state in which a person or thing exists. English took it through Old French condicion in the 1300s, and the modern double sense of 'a stipulation' and 'a state of being' both grew from that root. The hidden 'd' from dicere is the same element that gives us 'dictate' and 'verdict', a useful reminder when you write the middle of the word.

How the word is built

• con- (together)
• dit (from Latin dicere/dicere root meaning 'to say, declare')
• -ion (noun-forming suffix)