permutation
nounUK /ˌpɜː.mjʊˈteɪ.ʃən/ · US /ˌpɝ.mjʊˈteɪ.ʃ(ə)n/
Etymology From Middle English permutacioun, permutacyoun, from Old French permutacïon, promutatïon and Medieval Latin permūtātiōnem, accusative of permūtātiō. Morphologically permute + -ation.
1
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?
2
Mathematics, Sciences 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.
3
Combinatorics, Mathematics, Sciences An ordering of a finite set of distinct elements.
- There are six permutations of three elements, e.g. {abc, acb, bac, bca, cab, cba}.
4
Entertainment, Lifestyle, Music A transformation of a set's prime form, by applying one or more of certain operations, specifically, transposition, inversion, and retrograde.
- Derived terms
- multipermutation, permutational, permutation box, permutation group, permutation lock, simsun permutation, subpermutation, superpermutation, vexillary permutation
- Related terms
- combination