Decision

How to spell decision

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce decision

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does decision mean?

1. nounA conclusion or resolution reached after considering the options.

Decision in a sentence

• It was a difficult decision.

• We need to make a decision by Friday.

Where does decision come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin decisio, a noun built on the verb decidere, which literally meant 'to cut off'. That verb joined de-, meaning 'off' or 'away', to caedere, 'to cut', so the original image was of cutting a matter short and settling it once and for all. From the sense of cutting away every other option came the figurative meaning of reaching a firm conclusion. English took the word in the 1400s through Old French decision, and the buried caedere root still surfaces in relatives like 'incision', 'concise', and 'scissors'. The tricky part for spellers is the middle: the sound is a soft -zh- but the spelling keeps the original 'cis', so it is decision, never 'decission' or 'desicion'.

How the word is built

• de- (off, away)
• cis (cut, from Latin caedere/caesus 'to cut')
• -ion (noun of action)