repetition
UK[ˌrepəˈtɪʃn]US[ˌrepəˈtɪʃn]
n
the act of doing or saying the same thing many times.
n
something that is done or said again.
Morpheme Breakdown
re
pet
ition
re
again
pet
seek, aim
ition
noun suffix
Etymology
the word 'repetition' originates from the latin 'repetitio', which itself is derived from the verb 'repetere', meaning 'to seek again' or 'to demand again'. this verb is a compound of the prefix 're-' (back, again) and 'petere' (to seek, aim at, go to). the core semantic link is the idea of returning to a previous point or action, seeking it once more. over time, this sense of 'seeking again' evolved into the general modern meaning of performing an action or uttering words a second or multiple times.
Analysis
Structure: re (again) + pet (seek, aim) + ition (noun suffix)
re- (latin prefix, meaning 'again'); pet (from latin root 'petere', meaning 'to seek, aim at, go towards'); -ition (latin noun-forming suffix, indicating an action or process).
Examples
learning a language requires a lot of repetition.
the performance was a dull repetition of last year's show.
he avoided unnecessary repetition in his writing.