translocation

T1R1A1N1S1L1O1C3A1T1I1O1N1

noun

Removal of things from one place to another; displacement; substitution of one thing for another.

OriginEnglish location ← Latin trans- ← Proto-Italic *trāns- →
Less commonScrabble 15
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Meanings

nountranslocation (countable and uncountable, plural translocations)

plural translocations

  1. countableuncountableRemoval of things from one place to another; displacement; substitution of one thing for another.

    There happen'd certain translocations at the deluge.

    1728–1729, J[ohn] Woodward, An Attempt towards a Natural History of the Fossils of England; […], !(please specify |tome=I or II), London: […] F[rancis] Fayram, […]; J[ohn] Senex, […]; and J. Osborn and T[homas] Longman, […], →OCLC
    1 more example

    By taking users to places where they would or could not really go, the technology offered empathy or awe via translocation.

    2023 June 6, Ian Bogost, “The Age of Goggles Has Arrived”, in The Atlantic
  2. countableuncountablebiologyA transfer of a chromosomal segment to a new position, especially on a nonhomologous chromosome; the segment so transferred.
  3. countableuncountablebiochemistryA transfer of a molecule through a membrane.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*terh₂-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*térh₂t
  3. Proto-Indo-European*tr̥h₂ónts
  4. Proto-Indo-European*tr̥h₂n̥ts
  5. Proto-Italic*trāns
  6. Proto-Italic*trāns-
  7. Latintrans-
  8. Englishtrans-
  9. Englishlocation
  10. Englishtranslocation

From trans- + location.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Dutch translocatie
  • translocatiegenetics: transfer of chromosomal segment
Finnish siirto, siirtäminen
  • siirtodisplacement, substitution
  • siirtäminendisplacement, substitution
  • korvaaminendisplacement, substitution
  • translokaatiogenetics: transfer of chromosomal segment
French translocation
  • translocationgenetics: transfer of chromosomal segment
Indonesian translokasi, translokasi
  • translokasidisplacement, substitution
  • translokasigenetics: transfer of chromosomal segment
Italian traslocazione
  • traslocazionegenetics: transfer of chromosomal segment
Portuguese translocação
  • translocaçãogenetics: transfer of chromosomal segment
Spanish traslado, translocación
  • trasladodisplacement, substitution
  • translocacióndisplacement, substitution
  • traslocacióngenetics: transfer of chromosomal segment

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

transcolationcotranslation
Cite this entry
APA

translocation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/translocation

MLA

“translocation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/translocation. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “translocation,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/translocation.

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