ˌ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷fə̇ˈkāshən noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French, from Medieval Latin modification-, modificatio, from Latin, measure, measuring, from modificatus (past participle of modificare, modificari to measure, moderate) + -ion-, -io -ion
1. : the act of limiting the meaning or application of a concept or statement : qualification , restriction
with some modifications this statement is true today — J.B.Conant
2. : mode I 6
3.
a.
(1) : the act or action of changing something without fundamentally altering it
making the exactly minimum degree of modification to her institutions necessary to fit them to new conditions — John Strachey
(2) : the state of being so changed
b. : a result of such partial change : a modified form
a modification of last year's hardtop
a modification of a European breed
a modification of his batting style
c. : a noninheritable change in an organism caused by the influence of its environment
4.
a. : a limitation or qualification of the meaning of a word by another word, by an affix, or by internal change
b. : inflection 4a
c. : a change that a linguistic form undergoes when borrowed from one language into another
5.
a. : an alteration by environment influence of the articulatory components of a word or other speech item
the alteration of has to z in hēz stäpt ( he's stopped ) is a phonetic modification
b. : umlaut 1
6. Scots law : the action of awarding or decreeing something done or paid in settlement (as the award of a minster's stipend against his parish)