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retardation

 [ree-tahr-dey-shuhn]   Origin

re·tar·da·tion

   [ree-tahr-dey-shuhn]
noun
1.
the act of retarding or state of being retarded.
2.
something that retards; hindrance.
3.
slowness or limitation in intellectual understanding and awareness, emotional development, academic progress, etc.
4.
Music. a form of suspension that is resolved upward.
Also, re·tard·ment  [ri-tahrd-muhnt] .

Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English retardacioun < Latin retardātiōn- (stem of retardātiō), equivalent to retardāt(us) (see retard, -ate1) + -iōn- -ion

Related forms
re·tard·a·tive  [ri-tahr-duh-tiv] , re·tard·a·to·ry  [ri-tahr-duh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] , adjective
non·re·tar·da·tion, noun
non·re·tard·a·tive, adjective
non·re·tard·a·to·ry, adjective
non·re·tard·ment, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Retardation is always a great word to know.
So is dotted half note. Does it mean:
tone raised a chromatic half step in pitch
note with three counts
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Collins
World English Dictionary
retardation or retardment (ˌriːtɑːˈdeɪʃən, rɪˈtɑːdmənt)
 
—n
1.  the act of retarding or the state of being retarded
2.  something that retards; hindrance
3.  the rate of deceleration
4.  psychiatry the slowing down of mental functioning and bodily movement
 
retardment or retardment
 
—n
 
re'tardative or retardment
 
—adj
 
re'tardatory or retardment
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

retardation
early 15c., "fact or action of making slower in movement or time," from L. retardationem, from retardare "to make slow, delay, keep back, hinder," from re-, intensive prefix, + tardare "to slow" (see tardy).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

retardation re·tar·da·tion (rē'tär-dā'shən)
n.

  1. The condition of being relatively slow in mental, emotional, or physical development.

  2. The extent to which something is held back or delayed.

  3. Mental retardation.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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