-esis

Nouns of action or process.

[Greek -ēsis.]

Most examples are direct imports into English of Greek words: diaeresis (Greek, separation), a mark placed over a vowel to indicate that it is sounded separately; exegesis (Greek, interpretation, guidance), critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially of scripture; genesis (Greek, generation, creation, nativity, horoscope), the origin or mode of formation of something; kinesis (Greek, movement), movement or motion, nemesis (Greek, retribution), retribution; thesis (Greek, a placing, a proposition). Some—such as diuresis and synthesis—have corresponding adjectives in -etic. See also -osis.

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