Definition of PERMUTATION

permutation

Plural: permutations

Noun

  • an event in which one thing is substituted for another
  • the act of changing the arrangement of a given number of elements
  • complete change in character or condition; - Henry Miller
    • "the permutations...taking place in the physical world"
  • act of changing the lineal order of objects in a group
  • One of the ways something exists, or the ways a set of objects can be ordered.
  • A one-to-one mapping from a finite set to itself.
  • An ordering of a finite set of distinct elements.
  • A transformation of a set's prime form, by applying one or more of certain operations, specifically, transposition, inversion, and retrograde.

Examples

  • There are six permutations of three elements, e.g. {abc, acb, bac, bca, cab, cba}.
  • This permutation takes each element to the one following it, with the last mapped back to the first.
  • Which permutation for completing our agenda items makes the most sense?

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English permutacioun, permutacyoun, from Old French permutacïon, promutatïon and Medieval Latin permūtātiōnem, accusative of permūtātiō.
Morphologically permute + -ation.

Scrabble Score: 15

permutation: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
permutation: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
permutation: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 19

permutation: valid Words With Friends Word