Deletion

How to spell deletion

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce deletion

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does deletion mean?

1. nounThe act of removing or erasing something, especially text or data, or the part that has been removed.

Deletion in a sentence

• The editor marked the paragraph for deletion before the report went to print.

• Accidental deletion of the file cost the team a full afternoon of work.

Where does deletion come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb delere, meaning 'to wipe out', 'to blot out', or 'to destroy', which Roman writers often used for erasing marks from a wax tablet. From the supine stem deletum came the noun deletio, describing the act of erasing or annihilating something. English borrowed the term in the early 1600s, initially in the sense of destruction or removal, and it later settled into the familiar meaning of striking out a word, line, or piece of text. The same Latin root sits behind the everyday verb 'delete', and the spelling keeps the single 'l' and single 't' of delere rather than doubling either, which is the most common trap for writers. The 'tion' ending is the regular English reflex of the Latin '-tio', pronounced 'shun', so the sound gives no clue that the letters are 't-i-o-n'.

How the word is built

• delet- (from Latin delere: to wipe out, destroy)
• -ion (noun-forming suffix denoting an act or result)