dilation

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)The act of dilating.
2. (countable, uncountable)State of being dilated; expansion; dilatation.
3. (countable, obsolete, uncountable)Delay.

   “The wise queen, however she might seem to have a fair opportunity offered to her suit, finds it not good to apprehend it too suddenly; as desiring by this small dilation to prepare the ear and heart of the king for so important a request”

4. (countable, uncountable)In morphology, a basic operation (denoted ⊕) that usually uses a structuring element for probing and expanding the shapes contained in the input image.