\E*rec"tion\, n. [L. erectio: cf. F. ['e]rection.]
1. The act of erecting, or raising upright; the act of
   constructing, as a building or a wall, or of fitting
   together the parts of, as a machine; the act of founding
   or establishing, as a commonwealth or an office; also, the
   act of rousing to excitement or courage.
2. The state of being erected, lifted up, built, established,
   or founded; exaltation of feelings or purposes.
         Her peerless height my mind to high erection draws
         up.                                   --Sidney
3. State of being stretched to stiffness; tension.
4. Anything erected; a building of any kind.
5. (Physiol.) The state of a part which, from having been
   soft, has become hard and swollen by the accumulation of
   blood in the erectile tissue.