foliation

UK: /ˌfəʊlɪˈeɪʃən/ US: (fō′lē ā′shən)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

fo•li•a•tion  (fō′lē ā′shən), n. 

1. Botany the act or process of putting forth leaves.
2. Botany the state of being in leaf.
3. [Bot.]
   • Botany the arrangement of leaves within a bud.
   • Botany the arrangement of leaves on a plant.
4. Botany leaves or foliage.
5. Printing the consecutive numbering of the folios or leaves, as distinguished from pages, of a manuscript or book.
6. Printing the total number of such leaves.
7. Rocks [Petrol.] a form of lamination produced in rocks by metamorphism.
8. ornamentation with foliage, or an arrangement of foliage.
9. Architecture
   • Architecture ornamentation with foils.
   • Architecture ornamentation with representations of foliage.
10. formation into thin sheets.
11. Metallurgy, Ceramics the application of foil to glass to make a mirror.

• foliate + -ion 1615–25

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

foliation / ˌfəʊlɪˈeɪʃən/ noun

1. the process of producing leaves
2. the state of being in leaf
3. the arrangement of leaves in a leaf bud; vernation
4. ornamentation consisting of foliage
5. the consecutive numbering of the leaves of a book
6. the arrangement of the constituents of a rock in leaflike layers, as in schists