-faction

suffix

The act of creating something, or (more broadly) any process involving the specified thing.

“aer- (“air”) + -i- + -faction → aerifaction (“aeration, hyperinflation of the lungs”)”

OriginFrench -faction ← Latin -factiō →
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Meanings

suffix
  1. The act of creating something, or (more broadly) any process involving the specified thing.

    aer- (“air”) + -i- + -faction → aerifaction (“aeration, hyperinflation of the lungs”)

    1 more example

    lith- (“stone”) + -i- + -faction → lithifaction (“the compaction and cementation of sediment into rock”)

Origin

  1. Latin-factiō
  2. French-faction
  3. English-faction

Borrowed from French -faction, from Latin -factiō. This is the ending that arises when forming action nouns using -tiō (equivalent to English -tion) from compound verbs ending in -faciō (“to make, to do”), which carry a causative meaning. For example, liqueō (“to be liquid”) + faciō > liquefaciō (“to make (something) liquid”) > liquefactiō > English liquefaction. The suffix was later applied to other Latin stems where no Latin verb in -faciō existed (e.g. lubrifaction) and, eventually, even more freely (but see usage notes). Compare -ification and -ication.

More words from French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

-faction. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-faction

MLA

“-faction.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-faction. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-faction,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-faction.

Source: -faction on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.