Relocation

How to spell relocation

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce relocation

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does relocation mean?

1. nounThe act of moving a person, household, or organisation from one place to another.

Relocation in a sentence

• The company offered a generous relocation package to staff willing to move.

• Their relocation to the coast meant selling the family home of thirty years.

Where does relocation come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin noun locus, which simply meant 'a place' and survives in modern English words like 'local' and 'locate'. From locus came the verb locare, 'to place or set down', and adding the prefix re-, meaning 'again' or 'back', produced the idea of placing something in a new position. English assembled 'relocate' and its noun 'relocation' from these classical parts, with the familiar Latin ending -ation that turns a verb into a noun of action. The term became especially common in the twentieth century in the contexts of work, housing, and business, describing the act of moving people or operations from one site to another. The single 'l' and the smooth -cation ending are worth noting, since the spelling stays regular once you see the buried word 'locate' inside it.

How the word is built

• re- (again)
• loc (place, from Latin locus)
• -ate (verb)
• -ion (noun of action)