Rotation

How to spell rotation

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce rotation

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does rotation mean?

1. nounThe action of turning around a central point or axis.
2. nounA regular cycle in which people, duties, or things take turns in a set order.

Rotation in a sentence

• The rotation of the earth gives us day and night.

• The nurses work a strict rotation of day and night shifts.

• A slow rotation of the dial adjusts the volume.

• The farmer planned a four-year crop rotation to protect the soil.

Where does rotation come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word rotation comes from the Latin verb rotare, meaning 'to turn in a circle' or 'to revolve', which was itself built on the noun rota, the plain Latin word for a wheel. The action noun rotationem described the act of turning round, and English took it in through the late 1500s, first in scientific and astronomical writing about turning bodies. Over time the meaning widened from literal spinning to the orderly taking of turns, as in a rotation of crops or staff. The same rota root still survives almost untouched in modern British English, where a 'rota' is a duty roster, and it also powers familiar relatives such as 'rotary' and 'rotor'. Remembering that single rota at its heart, with a plain 't' and the standard -ation ending, keeps the spelling regular and free of traps.

How the word is built

• rot- (from Latin rota: wheel)
• -ation (noun of action)