exercitation

American  

[ig-zur-si-tey-shuhn] / ɪgˌzɜr sɪˈteɪ ʃən /

noun

1. exercise or exertion, as of the faculties or powers of the body or mind.

   an exercitation of the imagination.

2. practice or training.

   exercitations in logical thinking.

3. the performance of a religious observance; an act of worship.

4. a disquisition or discourse performed as a display of skill.

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exercitation British  

/ ɪɡˌzɜːsɪˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. a rare word for exercise

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Etymology

Origin of exercitation

1325–75; Middle English exercitacioun < Latin exercitātiōn- (stem of exercitātiō ) exercise, practice, equivalent to exercitāt ( us ) (past participle of exercitāre, to exercise, frequentative of exercēre; see exercise) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

exercitation

It is not a mere exercitation of the intellect, it is an endeavor to get nearer God—to assert his eternal Providence, and vindicate his ways to men.

From Spare Hours by John Brown

The chief use of this first mode of discussion is to sharpen the wit, for which purpose it is the best exercitation.

From Specimens of the Table Talk of Samuel Taylor Coleridge by Henry Nelson Coleridge

Nevertheless, the writing of verses is a good rhetorical exercitation, as teaching us what to shun most carefully in prose.

From The Complete Poetical Works of James Russell Lowell by James Russell Lowell

Coleridge’s profound and brilliant, but unequal, and often somewhat nebulous Essay on Method, is worth reading over, were it only as an exercitation, and to impress on the mind the meaning and value of method.

From Spare Hours by John Brown

History or historical romance seems to have been the favourite literary exercitation during this period.

From The Empire of the East by H. B. (Helen Barrett) Montgomery