Origin: 1350–1400; Middle English (< Anglo-French ) < Latin aedificātiōn- (stem of aedificātiō), equivalent to aedificāt(us) (past participle of aedificāre) built (aedi- stem of aedēs house + -fic-, combining form of facere to make + -ātus-ate1) + -iōn--ion
late 14c., in religious use, "building up of the soul," from L. aedificationem, from aedificare (see edifice). Religious use is as translation of Gk. oikodome in I Cor. xiv. Meaning "mental improvement" is 1650s. Literal sense of "building" is rare in English.