Meditation

How to spell meditation

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce meditation

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does meditation mean?

1. nounThe practice of focusing the mind in calm reflection or contemplation, often to reduce stress or deepen awareness.

Meditation in a sentence

• She begins each morning with ten minutes of meditation before checking her phone.

• The wellness app offers guided meditation for people struggling to sleep.

Where does meditation come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb meditari, which meant 'to think over', 'to contemplate', or 'to practise something repeatedly'. The verb is related to mederi, 'to heal' or 'to attend to', and to the root that also gives us 'remedy', carrying a sense of giving careful, healing attention to something. The Latin noun meditatio described an act of pondering or rehearsing, and English took the word in through Old French meditacion during the 1300s, at first for religious or devotional reflection. Over the centuries the meaning broadened from quiet Christian contemplation to the calm, focused mental practices many people associate with the word today. The spelling is fairly regular, with the soft -ti- before -on producing a 'shun' sound, which is the small trap for writers who might reach for an 's'.

How the word is built

• medit- (from meditari: to think over, reflect)
• -ation (noun of action)