Hypertext Webster Gateway: "parameter"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Parameter \Pa*ram"e*ter\, n. [Pref. para- + -meter: cf. F.
param[`e]tre.]
1.
(a) (Math.) A term applied to some characteristic
magnitude whose value, invariable as long as one and
the same function, curve, surface, etc., is
considered, serves to distinguish that function,
curve, surface, etc., from others of the same kind or
family. --Brande & C.
(b) Specifically (Conic Sections), in the ellipse and
hyperbola, a third proportional to any diameter and
its conjugate, or in the parabola, to any abscissa and
the corresponding ordinate.
Note: The parameter of the principal axis of a conic section
is called the latus rectum.
2. (Crystallog.) The ratio of the three crystallographic axes
which determines the position of any plane; also, the
fundamental axial ratio for a given species.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
parameter
n 1: a constant in the equation of a curve that can be varied to
yield a family of similar curves [syn: {parametric
quantity}]
2: any factor that defines a system and determines (or limits)
its performance
3: a quantity (such as the mean or variance) that characterizes
a statistical population and that can be estimated by
calculations from sample data
Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents;
see the Webster Gateway FAQ,
and also the Back-end/database links and credits.