relation

relation
relation, relationship, relatives
As nouns, relation and relative both mean ‘a person related by blood or by marriage’, and both are idiomatic in the plural. For some reason, however, relation is the normal choice in the explicit context of wealth:

• He resented…the mother who had inconsiderately died and left him a poor relation —Julian Symons, 1978.

The state of a person's connection with relations or relatives is his or her relationship, which is also used in the wider context of people's dealings with one another:

• How difficult and unnatural are in-law relationships! —Daily Telegraph, 1970

• You need to consider the quality of the relationship which exists between your son and the teachers, your son and his peers, and between you and the teachers —Where, 1972.

In modern use, relationship has a sexual connotation which should always be borne in mind when using this word:

• She can't forgive me for leaving and I've had to accept that our relationship's finally over —Woman, 1991.

Relation is often preferred to denote the way things (especially concepts and ideas) relate to each other

• (It's now apparent that there's a positive relation between body mass index and the risk of acute coronary events in people with known coronary artery disease —British Medical Journal, 2003)

is the normal choice in meanings to do with activities and procedures, as in the expression business relations, and is the only choice in fixed expressions such as in relation to and bear some (or no etc.) relation to. The plural form relations typically has political connotations, as in good relations, diplomatic relations, foreign relations, etc.

Modern English usage. 2014.

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  • RELATION — Le concept de relation apparaît comme l’un des concepts fondamentaux du discours rationnel. Il semble lié à la pratique de l’analyse, qui constitue elle même l’un des aspects essentiels de la démarche discursive. L’analyse décompose les unités… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • relation — Relation. s. f. Rapport d une chose à une autre. Cet article a relation au precedent. ce traité a relation avec celuy qui a esté fait auparavant. ce que vous dites n a aucune relation à la chose, avec la chose dont il s agit. Relation, en termes… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Relation — Re*la tion (r? l? sh?n), n. [F. relation, L. relatio. See {Relate}.] 1. The act of relating or telling; also, that which is related; recital; account; narration; narrative; as, the relation of historical events. [1913 Webster] ??????oet s… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Relation de un a un — Relation de un à un En gestion de base de données, une relation de un à un détermine que pour chaque enregistrement d une table, il ne peut y avoir que zéro ou un enregistrement d une autre table qui lui soit lié. Il est intéressant d utiliser ce …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Relation — may refer to:*Relation, a person to whom one is related, i.e. a family member (see also Kinship) *Relation (mathematics), a generalization of arithmetic relations, such as = and …   Wikipedia

  • relation — I (connection) noun affiliation, affinity, alliance, analogy, applicability, appositeness, apposition, association, bearing, bond, closeness, cognation, comparableness, connation, connaturalness, connexion, correlation, correspondence, homology,… …   Law dictionary

  • relation — [ri lā′shən] n. [ME relacion < MFr or L: MFr relation < L relatio: see RELATE] 1. a narrating, recounting, or telling 2. what is narrated or told; account; recital 3. connection or manner of being connected or related, as in thought,… …   English World dictionary

  • relation — ► NOUN 1) the way in which two or more people or things are connected or related. 2) (relations) the way in which two or more people or groups feel about and behave towards each other. 3) a relative. 4) (relations) formal sexual intercourse. 5)… …   English terms dictionary

  • relation — late 14c., from Anglo Fr. relacioun, O.Fr. relacion (14c.), from L. relationem (nom. relatio) a bringing back, restoring, from relatus (see RELATE (Cf. relate)). Meaning person related by blood or marriage first attested c.1500. Stand alone… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Relation — (v. lat. Relatio), 1) (röm. Ant.), Vortrag, welchen der Consul od. Einer der höhern Magistrate im Senat hielt; 2) Verfahren, wo der Unterrichter dem Kaiser die Entscheidung in schwierigen Fällen überließ, bes. bei nöthiger Abweichung vom streugen …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

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