perturbation
noun
Forms perturbations
- noun (uncountable) Agitation; the state of being perturbed.
- noun (countable) A small change in a physical system, or more broadly any definable system (such as a biological or economic system).
- noun (countable, astronomy, physics) Variation in an orbit due to the influence of external bodies.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French perturbation, from Old French perturbacion, from Latin perturbatio.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The act of perturbing, or the state of being perturbed; esp., agitation of mind.
- noun A disturbance in the regular elliptic or other motion of a heavenly body, produced by some force additional to that which causes its regular motion; as, the perturbations of the planets are caused by their attraction on each other. Newcomb.
Etymology [L. perturbatio: cf. F. perturbation.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “perturbation”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details