adoption

B2 Topic:Family & Relationships

US /əˈdɑp.ʃən/ UK /əˈdɒp.ʃən/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like adaption /æ/ vs /ɑ/

Freq #7330

Meanings

1

noun
The act of legally taking a child into your family to raise as your own.

The baby was given up for adoption at birth.
2

noun
The act of starting to use a particular method, idea, or way of doing things.

The adoption of the new software improved the team's efficiency.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · the act of starting to use... acceptance

Word family

Forms adoptions

Derived forms adoptionaladoptionismadoptionistantiadoptioncoadoptionnonadoptionpostadoptionpreadoptionproadoptionreadoptionunadoption

Simplified etymology

Adoption entered English in the Middle Ages and comes from a Latin word meaning “choose for oneself.” It is related to Latin optare, “to choose,” the source of option, and originally reflects the selection of a particular child as one’s own.

Etymology

Borrowed from French adoption, from Latin adoptio, allied to adoptare (“to adopt”). Equivalent to adopt + -ion.

adoptio Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Family & Relationships

External links

# adoption

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /əˈdɑp.ʃən/
**IPA (UK):** /əˈdɒp.ʃən/
**Frequency rank:** 7330

## Meanings
1. The act of legally taking a child into your family to raise as your own.
2. The act of starting to use a particular method, idea, or way of doing things.

## Examples
- The baby was given up for adoption at birth.
- The adoption of the new software improved the team's efficiency.

## Derived Forms
- adoptional
- adoptionism
- adoptionist
- antiadoption
- coadoption
- nonadoption
- postadoption
- preadoption
- proadoption
- readoption
- unadoption

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: adoptio

## Etymology
Borrowed from French adoption, from Latin adoptio, allied to adoptare (“to adopt”). Equivalent to adopt + -ion.

## AI Etymology
Adoption is borrowed from French adoption, from Latin adoptio, allied to adoptare (“to adopt”). Equivalent to adopt plus -ion. The formation is semantically transparent: the parts remain visible, while the compound or affix fixes the grammatical role and narrows the modern meaning. In use as a noun, adoption denotes the act of legally taking a child into your family to raise as your own and the act of starting to use a particular method, idea, or way of doing things. The same word family continues in derived forms such as adoptional, adoptionism, adoptionist, and antiadoption.

## Topics
- Family & Relationships

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