Permutation
WordNet
noun
(1) Act of changing the lineal order of objects in a group
(2) Complete change in character or condition
"The permutations...taking place in the physical world"- Henry Miller
(3) The act of changing the arrangement of a given number of elements
(4) An event in which one thing is substituted for another
"The replacement of lost blood by a transfusion of donor blood"
WiktionaryText
Noun
- 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.
- An ordering of a finite set of distinct elements.
- There are six permutations of three elements, e.g. {abc, acb, bac, bca, cab, cba}.
- A transformation of a set's prime form, by applying one or more of certain operations, specifically, transposition, inversion, and retrograde.
Etymology
From permutationem (nominative: permutatio), from permutatus (past participle of permutare).
Noun
permutation
- permutation; one-to-one mapping of a finite set to itself
- permutation; an ordering of a finite set of distinct elements