How to spell documentation

hear itdoc·u·men·ta·tion/,dɑkjəmɛn'teɪʃən/nounSchwa and roots

What it means: Evidence or information supporting a fact.

In a sentence: The teacher showed us the documentation for the school rules.

The part people get wrong

Watch for an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear. Often misspelled as documention or documantation.

Same family: document, documented, documentary, evidence. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Documentation” comes from the Latin word *documentum*, meaning “lesson” or “example,” from *docere*, “to teach.” Over time it shifted from the idea of teaching proof to the modern sense of written evidence that supports a fact or statement.

Patterns it uses: The unstressed vowel (schwa) · -tion, -sion or -cian?

Try spelling it

You will hear the word and a sentence. Type it and press Enter. Then four more words from the same level, so you know where you stand.

Words like this

expiration · dissertation · confirmation · resignation · authorization · verification · formation · stationery

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