dilation

Back-formation from dilate, late 16th c.

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /daɪˈleɪʃən/
• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

dilation (countable and uncountable, plural dilations)

1. The act of dilating.
2. State of being dilated; expansion; dilatation.

   Synonyms: expansion, dilatation

3. (obsolete) Delay.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Bishop Hall to this entry?)

4. (mathematics) In morphology, a basic operation (denoted ⊕) that usually uses a structuring element for probing and expanding the shapes contained in the input image.

• dial into, dilatino, laid into

Borrowed from Latin dīlātiō.

dilation f (oblique plural dilations, nominative singular dilation, nominative plural dilations)

1. dissemination; spreading (of rumors, stories, etc.)