propension

See also: propensión

English

Etymology

From French propension, and its source, Latin prōpēnsiō, from the participle stem of prōpendeō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɹəˈpɛnʃ(ə)n/

Noun

propension (plural propensions)

1. (archaic) Propensity.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:predilection

   • c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Famous Historie of Troylus and Cresseid. […] (First Quarto), London: […] G[eorge] Eld for R[ichard] Bonian and H[enry] Walley, […], published 1609, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii], signature D3, recto:

     But I aſſeſt the gods, your full conſent, / Gaue vvings to my propenſion, and cut off / All feares attending on ſo dire a proiect, […]

   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 8, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

     As for me, my tast is strangely distasted to it's propensions, which in us are produced without the ordinance and direction of our judgement.

Anagrams

• open prison

French

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin prōpēnsiōnem (“penchant, inclination”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pʁɔ.pɑ̃.sjɔ̃/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

propension f (plural propensions)

1. propensity, proclivity

   Synonyms: disposition, inclination, penchant, tendance

Further reading

• “propension”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.