permutation
UK /ˌpɜː.mjʊˈteɪ.ʃən/ · US /ˌpɝ.mjʊˈteɪ.ʃ(ə)n/ noun
Forms permutations
- noun One of the ways something exists, or the ways a set of objects can be ordered. “Which permutation for completing our agenda items makes the most sense?”
- noun (mathematics) A one-to-one mapping from a finite set to itself. “This permutation takes each element to the one following it, with the last mapped back to the first.”
- noun (mathematics, combinatorics) An ordering of a finite set of distinct elements. “There are six permutations of three elements, e.g. {abc, acb, bac, bca, cab, cba}.”
- noun (music) A transformation of a set's prime form, by applying one or more of certain operations, specifically, transposition, inversion, and retrograde.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English permutacioun, permutacyoun, from Old French permutacïon, promutatïon and Medieval Latin permūtātiōnem, accusative of permūtātiō.
Morphologically permute + -ation.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The act of permuting; exchange of the thing for another; mutual transference; interchange.
- noun (a) The arrangement of any determinate number of things, as units, objects, letters, etc., in all possible orders, one after the other; --called also alternation. Cf. Combination, n., 4.
Etymology [L. permutatio: cf. F. permutation. See Permute.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “permutation”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details