Permutation

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Origin

From Old French permutacion (French: permutation).

Noun

1. (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.
2. (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}.
3. (music) A transformation of a set's prime form, by applying one or more of certain operations, specifically, transposition, inversion, and retrograde.

Anagrams

• importunate