English
parameter
Etymology

From French paramètre, from nl. parametrum, from Ancient Greek παρα- + μέτρον ("measure").

Pronunciation
  • (British) IPA: /pəˈɹæm.ɪ.tə/
  • (America) IPA: /pəˈɹæm.ə.tɚ/, [pəˈɹæm.ə.ɾɚ]
Noun

parameter (plural parameters)

  1. A value kept constant during an experiment, equation, calculation or similar, but varied over other versions of the experiment, equation, calculation, etc.
    Coordinate terms: metaparameter, subparameter, superparameter
  2. (sciences) A variable that describes a property or characteristic of some system (material, object, event etc.) or some aspect thereof.
    Coordinate terms: metaparameter, subparameter, superparameter, hyperparameter
    1. (statistics) Any measured quantity of a statistical population that summarises or describes an aspect of the population.
    2. (machine learning) A variable of a model that is trained by a machine learning algorithm.
      Coordinate term: feature
  3. (programming) An input variable of a function definition, that gets an actual value (argument) at execution time.
    Synonyms: formal parameter
  4. (programming, loosely) An actual value given to such a formal parameter.
    Synonyms: argument, actual parameter
  5. A characteristic or feature that distinguishes something from others.
    Synonyms: Thesaurus:characteristic
  6. (geometry) 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.
    The parameter of the principal axis of a conic section is called the latus rectum.
  7. (commutative algebra) Clipping of uniformizing parameter
  8. (crystallography) The ratio of the three crystallographic axes which determines the position of any plane.
  9. (crystallography) The fundamental axial ratio for a given species.
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