Alteration
Pronunciation : Al`ter*a"tion
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [Cf. F. alt?ration.]
Definition : 1. The act of altering or making different. Alteration, though it be from worse to better, hath in it incoveniences. Hooker.
2. The state of being altered; a change made in the form or nature of a thing; changed condition. Ere long might perceive Strange alteration in me. Milton. Appius Claudius admitted to the senate the sons of those who had been slaves; by which, and succeeding alterations, that council degenerated into a most corrupt. Swift.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913