the inflection of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives for categories such as case and number.
the whole set of inflected forms of such a word, or the recital thereof in a fixed order.
a class of such words having similar sets of inflected forms:
the Latin second declension.
2.
an act or instance of declining.
3.
a bending, sloping, or moving downward:
land with a gentle declension toward the sea.
4.
deterioration; decline.
5.
deviation, as from a standard.
Origin
1400-50;late Middle Englishdeclenson, declynson (with suffix later assimilated to -sion), by stress retraction and syncope < Old Frenchdeclinaison < Latindēclīnātiōdeclination
Examples from the web for declension
In the same way there is no declension of the pronoun for case.
Remainder ends instead in comic declension, deliberately refusing the self-mythologizing grandeur of the tragic.
British Dictionary definitions for declension
declension
/dɪˈklɛnʃən/
noun
1.
(grammar)
inflection of nouns, pronouns, or adjectives for case, number, and gender
the complete set of the inflections of such a word: "puella" is a first-declension noun in Latin
2.
a decline or deviation from a standard, belief, etc
3.
a downward slope or bend
Derived Forms
declensional, adjective declensionally, adverb
Word Origin
C15: from Latin dēclīnātiō, literally: a bending aside, hence variation, inflection; see decline
Word Origin and History for declension
n.
mid-15c., ultimately from Latin declinationem (nominative declinatio), noun of action from past participle stem of declinare (see decline); perhaps via French; "the form is irregular, and its history obscure" [OED].