declension
NounWordNet 3.0
Noun (4)
- the inflection of nouns and pronouns and adjectives in Indo-European languages
- process of changing to an inferior stateSynonyms: deteriorationdecline in qualityworsening
- a downward slope or bendSynonyms: descentdeclivityfalldeclinedeclinationdownslope
- a class of nouns or pronouns or adjectives in Indo-European languages having the same (or very similar) inflectional forms“the first declension in Latin”
Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)
1.The act or the state of declining; declination; descent; slope. [1913 Webster]
The declension of the land from that place to the sea.— T. Burnet.[1913 Webster]
2.A falling off towards a worse state; a downward tendency; deterioration; decay; as, the declension of virtue, of science, of a state, etc. [1913 Webster]
Seduced the pitch and height of all his thoughts To base declension.— Shak.[1913 Webster]
3.Act of courteously refusing; act of declining; a declinature; refusal; as, the declension of a nomination. [1913 Webster]
4.(Gram.) (a) Inflection of nouns, adjectives, etc., according to the grammatical cases. (b) The form of the inflection of a word declined by cases; as, the first or the second declension of nouns, adjectives, etc. (c) Rehearsing a word as declined. [1913 Webster]
Note: The nominative was held to be the primary and original form, and was likened to a perpendicular line; the variations, or oblique cases, were regarded as fallings (hence called casus, cases, or fallings) from the nominative or perpendicular; and an enumerating of the various forms, being a sort of progressive descent from the noun's upright form, was called a declension. --Harris. [1913 Webster]
Declension of the needle, declination of the needle. [1913 Webster]