What does inflexion mean?
Inflexion is a formal term for a change in a word’s form, especially a change to its ending that marks a grammatical distinction. The conversion of a noun into a plural or a verb into a past form illustrates this process. In grammar, “noun inflexion” and “verb inflexion” describe systematic changes that allow words to perform different syntactic roles. In mathematics, a “point of inflexion” is a point on a curve where its direction of bending changes, from concave to convex or the reverse. The word is especially associated with British English, while inflection is the usual spelling in American English and is also the dominant form in British academic and educational writing. Inflexion is therefore useful when precision matters, particularly in grammar, mathematics, and descriptive linguistics, although inflection is more familiar to most readers outside specialist contexts.
nounInflexion is a change in the form of a word, especially a change to its ending that marks a grammatical distinction such as number, tense, or case. In mathematics, it also refers to a point where a curve changes from concave to convex or vice versa.
- A change in the form of a word, especially an ending, that indicates a grammatical distinction such as number, tense, case, or gender.
- A point at which a curve changes from concave to convex or from convex to concave.
"The teacher asked the class to identify the inflexion of the verb when its tense changed."
"The teacher asked us to identify the inflexion of the verb when its tense changed."
"The graph's most noticeable point of inflexion occurs near the centre."
The plural inflexions refers to multiple instances or types of inflexion.
"The parser identifies several noun inflexions in the sentence."
The “x” in inflexion is no accident: it preserves the Latin root flectere, “to bend,” behind words such as flex and reflect.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does inflexion come from?
The word comes from Latin inflexio, a noun meaning “a bending” or “inflection,” formed from inflectere, “to bend.” Its grammatical sense developed from the idea of a word being bent or altered in form. The traditional British spelling inflexion corresponds closely to the Latin form, while English also uses inflection, a later reshaping of the same Latin base.
Related word forms
How inflexion is actually used
In grammatical contexts, inflexion is especially associated with British English, although inflection is now dominant in academic writing in both varieties. The mathematical sense is normally used in the established phrase “point of inflexion.”
Easily confused with inflexion
Inflection and inflexion have the same core meanings; inflection is the standard spelling in American English and the dominant spelling generally, while inflexion is especially associated with traditional British usage.