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pro·jec·tion (prə-jĕkshən)
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n.
1. The act of projecting or the condition of being projected.
2. A thing or part that extends outward beyond a prevailing line or surface: spiky projections on top of a fence; a projection of land along the coast.
3. A plan for an anticipated course of action: “facilities [that] are vital to the projection of U.S. force ... in the Pacific” (Alan D. Romberg).
4. A prediction or estimate of something in the future, based on present data or trends.
5.
a. The process of projecting an image onto a screen or other surface for viewing.
b. An image so projected.
6. Mathematics The image of a geometric figure reproduced on a line, plane, or surface.
7. A system of intersecting lines, such as the grid of a map, on which part or all of the globe or another spherical surface is represented as a plane surface.
8. Psychology The attribution of one's own attitudes, feelings, or suppositions to others, thought in psychoanalytic theory to be an unconscious defense against anxiety or guilt.

pro·jection·al adj.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.