• Variation

    Origin

    From French variation, from Latin variātiō.

    Full definition of variation

    Noun

    variation

    (usually uncountable; plural variations)
    1. The act of varying; a partial change in the form, position, state, or qualities of a thing
      • 2013, David Van Tassel, Lee DeHaan, Wild Plants to the Rescue, Plant breeding is always a numbers game....The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, and individual plants are highly heterozygous and do not breed true. In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better.
    2. A related but distinct thing.
      when the process didn't work, we tried a variation;  all of his songs are variations on a single theme
    3. (nautical) The angular difference at the vessel between the direction of true north and magnetic north. Also called magnetic declination.
    4. (board games) A line of play that differs from the original.
    5. (music) A technique where material is repeated with alterations to the melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre, texture, counterpoint or orchestration; but with some invariant characteristic, e.g. a ground bass.

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