Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Variation \Va`ri*a"tion\, n. [OE. variatioun, F. variation, L.
variatio. See Vary.]
1. The act of varying; a partial change in the form,
position, state, or qualities of a thing; modification;
alteration; mutation; diversity; deviation; as, a
variation of color in different lights; a variation in
size; variation of language.
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The essences of things are conceived not capable of
any such variation. --Locke.
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2. Extent to which a thing varies; amount of departure from a
position or state; amount or rate of change.
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3. (Gram.) Change of termination of words, as in declension,
conjugation, derivation, etc.
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4. (Mus.) Repetition of a theme or melody with fanciful
embellishments or modifications, in time, tune, or
harmony, or sometimes change of key; the presentation of a
musical thought in new and varied aspects, yet so that the
essential features of the original shall still preserve
their identity.
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5. (Alg.) One of the different arrangements which can be made
of any number of quantities taking a certain number of
them together.
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Annual variation (Astron.), the yearly change in the right
ascension or declination of a star, produced by the
combined effects of the precession of the equinoxes and
the proper motion of the star.
Calculus of variations. See under Calculus.
Variation compass. See under Compass.
Variation of the moon (Astron.), an inequality of the
moon's motion, depending on the angular distance of the
moon from the sun. It is greater at the octants, and zero
at the quadratures.
Variation of the needle (Geog. & Naut.), the angle included
between the true and magnetic meridians of a place; the
deviation of the direction of a magnetic needle from the
true north and south line; -- called also declination ofthe needle.
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Syn: Change; vicissitude; variety; deviation.
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variation
n 1: an instance of change; the rate or magnitude of change [syn:
fluctuation]
2: an activity that varies from a norm or standard; "any
variation in his routine was immediately reported" [syn: variance]
3: a repetition of a musical theme in which it is modified or
embellished
4: something a little different from others of the same type;
"an experimental version of the night fighter"; "an emery
wheel is a modern variant of the grindstone"; "the boy is
a younger edition of his father" [syn: version, variant,
edition]
5: an artifact that deviates from a norm or standard; "he
patented a variation on the sandal"
6: the angle (at a particular location) between magnetic north
and true north [syn: magnetic declination, magneticvariation]
7: (astronomy) any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of
a planet or satellite (especially a perturbation of the
earth's moon)
8: (biology) an organism that has characteristics resulting
from chromosomal alteration [syn: mutant, mutation, sport]
9: (ballet) a solo dance or dance figure [syn: pas seul]
10: the act of changing or altering something slightly but
noticeably from the norm or standard; "who is responsible
for these variations in taxation?"
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