ostension
- noun
- /ɑˈstɛnʃən/
:
ostensión
- During the presentation, she relied on ostension to illustrate her points, demonstrating key artifacts for clarity.
Examples
-
Even those who had "seen" the icon in Rome would not necessarily have known what it looked like, since the ostension of it, which took place regularly on Fridays and church holidays, did not provide a good view of it.
Academic text (2006) -
The teacher used ostension to explain the meaning of the artwork by showing it directly to the students.
-
In the workshop, the instructor emphasized ostension by physically showing the tools needed for the project.
Synonyms
196
2.2
An open showing of a feeling, quality, or knowledge
1
6.7
An example that shows something, or the act of showing something using an example
A way to explain a word by showing examples
How Clear
Surface Forms
Morphology
ostension = ostend (semi-transparent) = ostend + ion
The meaning 'act of showing' is directly related to the stem meaning 'to show', but the non‑productive Latin stem 'ostend-' is unfamiliar to most learners.
Etymology
Ostension comes from the Latin ostendere 'to show', the same idea as the simple word show. That's why ostension can mean 'showing' something to explain its meaning, for example when a teacher points to a real object.