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junc·tion

(jŭngkshən)

1. The act or process of joining or the condition of being joined.

2. A place where two things join or meet, especially a place where two roads or railway routes come together and one terminates.

3. A transition layer or boundary between two different materials or between physically different regions in a single material, especially:

a. A connection between conductors or sections of a transmission line.

b. The interface between two different semiconductor regions in a semiconductor device.

c. A mechanical or alloyed contact between different metals or other materials, as in a thermocouple.

[Latin iūnctiō, iūnctiōn-, from iūnctus, past participle of iungere, to join; see yeug- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

junction·al adj.

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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