Meanings
plural permutations
- countableuncountableOne of the ways something exists, or the ways a set of objects can be ordered.
Which permutation for completing our agenda items makes the most sense?
- countableuncountablemathematicsA 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.
- countableuncountablecombinatoricsAn ordering of a finite set of distinct elements.
There are six permutations of three elements, e.g. {abc, acb, bac, bca, cab, cba}.
- countableuncountableentertainmentA transformation of a set's prime form, by applying one or more of certain operations, specifically, transposition, inversion, and retrograde.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounan event in which one thing is substituted for another
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Medieval Latinpermūtātiōnem
- Old Frenchpermutacïon
- Middle Englishpermutacioun
- Englishpermutation
From Middle English permutacioun, permutacyoun, from Old French permutacïon, promutatïon and Medieval Latin permūtātiōnem, accusative of permūtātiō. Morphologically permute + -ation.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Medieval Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic تَبْدِيل
- تَبْدِيل (tabdīl)ordering of a set of distinct elements
Bulgarian пермутация, разместване
- пермутация (permutacija)one-to-one mapping
- разместване (razmestvane)one-to-one mapping
Chinese Mandarin 排列
- 排列 (pàiliè)ordering of a set of distinct elements
Czech permutace, permutace
- permutaceone-to-one mapping
- permutaceordering of a set of distinct elements
Esperanto permuto, permutaĵo
- permutoone-to-one mapping
- permutaĵoordering of a set of distinct elements
Finnish permutaatio, permutaatio
- permutaatioone-to-one mapping
- permutaatioordering of a set of distinct elements
- permutaatiomusic: transformation of a set's prime form
French permutation, permutation
- permutationone-to-one mapping
- permutationordering of a set of distinct elements
German Permutation
- Permutationordering of a set of distinct elements
Indonesian permutasi
- permutasiordering of a set of distinct elements
Italian permutazione, permutazione
- permutazioneone-to-one mapping
- permutazioneordering of a set of distinct elements
Korean 치환
- 치환 (chihwan)one-to-one mapping
Malay pilih atur
- pilih aturordering of a set of distinct elements
Māori whiriwhiringa raupapa
- whiriwhiringa raupapaordering of a set of distinct elements
Norwegian Bokmål permutasjon
- permutasjonordering of a set of distinct elements
Polish permutacja, permutacja
- permutacjaone-to-one mapping
- permutacjaordering of a set of distinct elements
Portuguese permutação, permutação
- permutaçãoone-to-one mapping
- permutaçãoordering of a set of distinct elements
- permutaçãomusic: transformation of a set's prime form
Romanian permutare, permutație
- permutareone-to-one mapping
- permutațieone-to-one mapping
Russian пермута́ция, перестано́вка
- пермута́ция (permutácija)one-to-one mapping
- перестано́вка (perestanóvka)ordering of a set of distinct elements
- пермута́ция (permutácija)ordering of a set of distinct elements
- пермута́ция (permutácija)music: transformation of a set's prime form
Spanish permutación, permutación
- permutaciónone-to-one mapping
- permutaciónordering of a set of distinct elements
Swedish permutation, permutation
- permutationone-to-one mapping
- permutationordering of a set of distinct elements
Tagalog pamalitan
- pamalitanordering of a set of distinct elements
Turkish permütasyon
- permütasyonordering of a set of distinct elements
Vietnamese hoán vị
- hoán vịordering of a set of distinct elements
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with permutation
Anagrams
Cite this entry
permutation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/permutation
“permutation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/permutation. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “permutation,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/permutation.
Source: permutation on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.