Definitions for: Permutation


[n] act of changing the lineal order of objects in a group
[n] complete change in character or condition; "the permutations...taking place in the physical world"- Henry Miller
[n] the act of changing the arrangement of a given number of elements
[n] an event in which one thing is substituted for another; "the replacement of lost blood by a transfusion of donor blood"



Webster (1913) Definition: Per`mu*ta"tion, n. [L. permutatio: cf. F.
permutation. See Permute.]
1. The act of permuting; exchange of the thing for another;
mutual transference; interchange.

The violent convulsions and permutations that have
been made in property. --Burke.

2. (Math.)
(a) The arrangement of any determinate number of things,
as units, objects, letters, etc., in all possible
orders, one after the other; -- called also
alternation. Cf. Combination, n., 4.
(b) Any one of such possible arrangements.

3. (Law) Barter; exchange.

Permutation lock, a lock in which the parts can be
transposed or shifted, so as to require different
arrangements of the tumblers on different occasions of
unlocking.


n P r = n! / (n-r)!

Synonyms: replacement, substitution, switch, transposition

See Also: fluctuation, mathematical operation, mathematical process, operation, reordering, transformation, translation, variation

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