Definition

The process of sticking together or clumping, often used in biology to describe how cells or bacteria group together, or in linguistics to refer to how words are formed from smaller parts that keep their meanings.

Example

In linguistics, agglutination is a common method of word formation in languages like Turkish and Finnish.

Conversation

Have you ever heard of agglutination in linguistics?

Yeah, it's when words are formed by combining smaller parts, right?

Exactly! It's fascinating how languages can build complex words like that.

Totally, it shows how creative language can be.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Root Explanation

Agglutination is formed from "ad-" (meaning to) and "glutinare" (meaning to glue). The term describes the process of sticking together, particularly in linguistics where it refers to the combination of morphemes in a word.

Memory Tip

Think of 'gluing' things 'together' ('ad-') — that's what agglutination means, the process of sticking parts together.

Visually Confused Words