Origin: Latin suffix -tion
Inflection has 5 different meanings across 1 category:
a change in the form of a word (usually by adding a suffix) to indicate a change in its grammatical function
the patterns of stress and intonation in a language
deviation from a straight or normal course
a manner of speaking in which the loudness or pitch or tone of the voice is modified
A change in the form of a word to express different grammatical categories.
The word comes from the Latin inflexionem, which originally meant "bending" or "alteration." It entered English via Middle French, and its modern spelling was later influenced by related words like "inflect."