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aus·cul·ta·tion

(ô′skəl-tāshən)

1. The act of listening.

2. Medicine The act of listening for sounds made by internal organs, as the heart and lungs, to aid in the diagnosis of certain disorders.

[Latin auscultātiō, auscultātiōn-, from auscultātus, past participle of auscultāre, to listen to; see ous- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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