flection

Flection is a term used in multiple disciplines to denote bending or turning, with its most developed meanings found in linguistics and anatomy. In linguistics, flection refers to the process by which a word changes form to express grammatical categories such as tense, number, mood, person, case, voice, or aspect. The result is an inflected form. The terms flection and inflection are sometimes used interchangeably, though inflection is the more common term in contemporary linguistic practice. The word derives from Latin flectere, meaning to bend.

In anatomy and medicine, flection denotes bending a joint. It describes the angle created when a limb is flexed, for example knee flection or elbow flection. In modern clinical usage, flexion is the more widely used term, and flection is often encountered in historical, anatomical, or pedantic contexts.

Other uses of flection are rare and nonstandard in most scientific fields. In physics or optics, the standard terms are reflection, refraction, and bending, rather than flection. When flection appears in technical writing, it is usually as a historical or cross-disciplinary synonym for bending, and it is not a primary term in these disciplines.

In summary, flection most commonly appears as a historical or alternate term for inflection in linguistics and for bending of a joint in anatomy. Its use varies by field, with inflection and flexion being the predominant terms in modern terminology.