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activity

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-
Proto-Indo-European *-eti
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti
Proto-Italic *agō
Latin agō
Proto-Indo-European *-wós
Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder.
Latin -īvus
▲
Ancient Greek ἐνεργητῐκός (energētĭkós)sl.
Latin āctīvus
Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-ts
Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts
Proto-Italic *-tāts
Latin -tās
Latin āctīvitāsder.
Middle French activitébor.
English activity

    From Middle French activité, from Latin activitas. Equivalent to active +‎ -ity.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    activity (countable and uncountable, plural activities)

    1. (uncountable) The state or quality of being active; activeness.
      Pit row was abuzz with activity.
    2. (countable) Something done as an action or a movement.
      Synonyms: pursuit, undertaking; see also Thesaurus:activity
      • 1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume I: The Founders, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: powstanie (in Polish), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 158:
        There has been a controversy in this sphere between economic materialism and the version of Marxism which ascribes an active and independent historical function to 'subjective' factors, i.e. the workings of the intellect and freely directed political activity.
      The activity for the morning was a walk to the store.
    3. (countable) Something done for pleasure or entertainment, especially one involving movement or an excursion.
      An increasing number of sports activities are on offer at the university.
      Quilting can be an enjoyable activity.
      • 2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36:
        Like most human activities, ballooning has sponsored heroes and hucksters and a good deal in between. For every dedicated scientist patiently recording atmospheric pressure and wind speed while shivering at high altitudes, there is a carnival barker with a bevy of pretty girls willing to dangle from a basket or parachute down to earth.
    5. (grammar, semantics) The lexical aspect (aktionsart) of verbs or predicates that change over time and have no natural end point.
      • 1997, Robert van Valin, Randy LaPolla, Syntax‎[1], page 92:
        […] distinctions among states of affairs are reflected to a striking degree in distinctions among Aktionsart types. That is, situations are expressed by state verbs or predicates, events by achievement verbs or predicates, and actions by activity verbs or predicates.
    6. (physics) The number of radioactive decays per unit time. Unit for it: becquerel or curie
    7. The property of substances to react with other substances

    Antonyms

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    Derived terms

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    Collocations

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    Adjectives often used with "activity"
    • increased, decreased, high, low, volcanic, seismic, eruptive, intellectual, physical, mental, spiritual, muscular, cerebral, favorite, recreational, practical, cultural, artistic, literary, musical, political, diplomatic, military, domestic, voluntary, missionary, chemical, optical, productive, reproductive, industrial, commercial, etc.

    Descendants

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    • → Japanese: アクティビティー
    • → Korean: 액티비티 (aektibiti)

    Translations

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    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked

    Further reading

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