The very common noun suffix -ation comes from a Latin suffix that is added to a verb and changes that verb to a noun. In English, the suffix -ation is used the same way. At first -ation was added especially to verbs that ended in ate. So, for example, we have the noun creation, formed from the verb create. But -ation has become so popular in English that it is used to form nouns from verbs that do not end in ate, such as civilization from the verb civilize and starvation from the verb starve.
