Fleksiyon

Fleksiyon is a term used in Turkish to refer to two related concepts in different fields: linguistics and anatomy. In general, it denotes a bending or changing of form, either of a word in language or of a joint in the body.

In linguistics, fleksiyon (inflection) describes how words change form to express grammatical information such as person, number, tense, mood, case, or voice. Languages vary in their inflectional systems. In Turkish, for example, nouns can take suffixes to indicate number and case (eg, ev → evler, evde), while verbs acquire suffixes to mark subject, tense, aspect, and mood (eg, gelmek → geliyorum, geldim). Inflectional changes do not usually create a new word with a distinct lexical meaning; they modify the grammatical function of the word within a sentence.

In anatomy and medicine, fleksiyon (flexion) refers to bending a joint to decrease the angle between two bones or parts of the body. Common examples are elbow or knee flexion, where the forearm or lower leg moves toward the upper arm or thigh. Flexion is often described relative to extension, which increases the joint angle. Flexion can occur in various planes and is discussed in medical contexts in terms of range of motion, strength, and injury assessment. For example, hip flexion describes bending at the hip, while dorsiflexion and plantar flexion describe movements at the ankle.

Etymology traces fleksiyon to Latin flexio or French flexion, reflecting its broad use in both linguistic theory and medical practice.