declinson

== Middle English == === Alternative forms === declynson clensone, clenzon, declenson (East Anglia); declunson (Staffordshire); clensoune (West Riding) === Etymology === Likely from earlier *declinisoun (/dɛˌkliniˈzuːn/) with late Middle English stress retraction and syncope, from Middle French or Anglo-Norman declinaison (itself from Latin dēclīnātiō), with forms with /ɛ/ and /y/ possibly reflecting analogical modification after words with Old English /y/ (West Riding clensoune may instead be from earlier open-syllable lengthening; compare forms such as Scots ceety). Thus by surface analysis, declinen +‎ -isoun and a doublet of declinacioun. Hall instead suggests borrowing from a Medieval Latin *dēclēnsiō, a blend of dēclīnātiō and dēscēnsiō (both "declension"); presumably the final syllable in /-zun/ rather than /-zjun/, /-zi.un/ would be due to the syncope of /i/ or modification after -isoun seen in forms such as decepcoun, savacoun (conversely, if derivation from declinaison is accepted, modern English declension reflects either hypercorrection or the reverse analogy). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /dɛˈklinzun/ IPA(key): /(dɛ)ˈklɛnzun/ (especially East Anglia) IPA(key): /dɛˈklynzun/ (West Midland) === Noun === declinson (plural declinsons) (Late Middle English) An inflectional class; a nominal declension or verbal conjugation. ==== Descendants ==== English: declension → Scots: declension === References ===