Heterogeneous

Pronunciation

• UK

Origin

From Medieval Latin heterogeneus, from Ancient Greek ἑτερογενής ("of different kinds"), from ἕτερος (heteros, "other, another, different") + γένος (genos, "kind"). Compare hetero- and -ous.

Full definition of heterogeneous

Adjective

1. Diverse in kind or nature; composed of diverse parts.
   He had a large and heterogeneous collection of books.
2. (mathematics) Incommensurable because of different kinds.
3. (physics) Having more than one phase (solid, liquid, gas) present in a system or process.
4. (chemistry) Visibly consisting of different components.
5. (computing) Of a network comprising different types of computers, potentially with vastly differing memory sizes, processing power and even basic underlying architecture; alternatively, of a data resource with multiple types of formats.

Antonyms

• homogeneous

Related terms

• heterogeneity