dislocation

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a serious disturbance that interrupts an established system, activity, or social order

   Wartime shortages caused severe dislocation in transport and industry.

2. 2
   noun

   the displacement of a bone from its normal position in a joint

   The fall caused a painful dislocation of her shoulder.

3. 3
   noun

   a linear defect in the regular atomic structure of a crystal

   The moving dislocation allowed the metal crystal to deform under stress.

Simplified etymology

Dislocation dates from the late Middle English period, when it meant “displacement,” and belongs to the word family based on Latin locus, meaning “place.”

Borrowed through French from Medieval Latin dislocatio, from dis- ("apart") + locare ("to place"), based on locus ("place"). The physical sense of putting out of place broadened to disruption of systems and society.

Topics

External links

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