Is there such a word as "assertation"? I know of the word assertion, but not assertation.

When I searched for the word assertation on the website www.thefreedictionary.com (a comprehensive resource), it read "Word not found in the Dictionary and Encyclopedia."

However, curiously, on the website www.dictionary.com, it gives 1 result:

Main Entry: assertation
Part of Speech: n
Definition: An assertion, statement of opinion
Example: We were bewildered at his assertation that the economy is thriving.


So my question to TexAgs is, does the word assertation exist, and which Dictionary do I trust?

Thanks in advance.

[This message has been edited by Kempster (edited 6/21/2007 10:35p).]

my hard copy of The New Merriam-Webster Dictionary (copyright 1989) does not have "assertation" in it. I think that "assertation" is a ****ifying of "assertion."

Do you just sit around and think of this stuff?

Thanks aggiecheer. My friend (who is a notoriously bad speller) used "assertation" in a sentence and says it is a legitimate word. If this is true, then why does it not exist in my dictionary?

I was wondering ... given that this word doesn't exist in leading dictionaries, is it "officially" incorrect to use this word?

[This message has been edited by Kempster (edited 6/21/2007 11:54p).]