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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
pa·ram·e·ter    Audio Help   [puh-ram-i-ter] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.Mathematics.
a.a constant or variable term in a function that determines the specific form of the function but not its general nature, as a in f(x) = ax, where a determines only the slope of the line described by f(x).
b.one of the independent variables in a set of parametric equations.
2.Statistics. a variable entering into the mathematical form of any distribution such that the possible values of the variable correspond to different distributions.
3.Computers. a variable that must be given a specific value during the execution of a program or of a procedure within a program.
4.Usually, parameters. limits or boundaries; guidelines: the basic parameters of our foreign policy.
5.characteristic or factor; aspect; element: a useful parameter for judging long-term success.

[Origin: 1650–60; < NL parametrum. See para-1, -meter]

par·a·met·ric    Audio Help   [par-uh-me-trik] Pronunciation Key, par·a·met·ri·cal, adjective

4, 5. Some object strongly to the use of parameter in these newer senses. Nevertheless, the criticized uses are now well established both in educated speech and in edited writing.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
parameter

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© 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
pa·ram·e·ter    Audio Help   (pə-rām'ĭ-tər)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. Mathematics
    1. A constant in an equation that varies in other equations of the same general form, especially such a constant in the equation of a curve or surface that can be varied to represent a family of curves or surfaces.
    2. One of a set of independent variables that express the coordinates of a point.
    3. One of a set of measurable factors, such as temperature and pressure, that define a system and determine its behavior and are varied in an experiment.
    4. Usage Problem A factor that restricts what is possible or what results: "all the parameters of shelter—where people will live, what mode of housing they will choose, and how they will pay for it" (New York).
    5. A factor that determines a range of variations; a boundary: an experimental school that keeps expanding the parameters of its curriculum.
    1. One of a set of measurable factors, such as temperature and pressure, that define a system and determine its behavior and are varied in an experiment.
    2. Usage Problem A factor that restricts what is possible or what results: "all the parameters of shelter—where people will live, what mode of housing they will choose, and how they will pay for it" (New York).
    3. A factor that determines a range of variations; a boundary: an experimental school that keeps expanding the parameters of its curriculum.
  2. Statistics A quantity, such as a mean, that is calculated from data and describes a population.
  3. Usage Problem A distinguishing characteristic or feature.


[New Latin parametrum, a line through the focus and parallel to the directrix of a conic : Greek para-, beside; see para-1 + Greek metron, measure; see -meter.]

par'a·met'ric (pār'ə-mět'rĭk), par'a·met'ri·cal adj., par'a·met'ri·cal·ly adv.
Usage Note: The term parameter, which originates in mathematics, has a number of specific meanings in fields such as astronomy, electricity, crystallography, and statistics. Perhaps because of its ring of technical authority, it has been used more generally in recent years to refer to any factor that determines a range of variations and especially to a factor that restricts what can result from a process or policy. In this use it often comes close to meaning "a limit or boundary." Some of these new uses have a clear connection to the technical senses of the word. For example, the provisions of a zoning ordinance that limit the height or density of new construction can be reasonably likened to mathematical parameters that establish the limits of other variables. Therefore one can say The zoning commission announced new planning parameters for the historic Lamping district of the city. But other uses go one step further and treat parameter as a high-toned synonym for characteristic. Eighty percent of Panelists reject this use of parameter in the example The Judeo-Christian ethic is one of the important parameters of Western culture. · Some of the difficulties with the nontechnical use of parameter appear to arise from its resemblance to the word perimeter, with which it shares the sense "limit," though the precise meanings of the two words differ. This confusion probably explains the use of parameter in a sentence such as U.S. forces report that the parameters of the mine area in the Gulf are fairly well established, where the word perimeter would have expressed the intended sense more exactly. This example of a use of parameter was unacceptable to 61 percent of the Usage Panel.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
parameter 
1656, from Mod.L. parameter (1631), from Gk. para- "beside, subsidiary" + metron "measure" (see meter (2)). A geometry term until 1920s when it yielded sense of "measurable factor which helps to define a particular system" (1927). Common modern meaning (infl. by perimeter) of "boundary, limit, characteristic factor" is from 1950s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
parameter

noun
1. a constant in the equation of a curve that can be varied to yield a family of similar curves 
2. any factor that defines a system and determines (or limits) its performance 
3. (computer science) a reference or value that is passed to a function, procedure, subroutine, command, or program [syn: argument
4. a quantity (such as the mean or variance) that characterizes a statistical population and that can be estimated by calculations from sample data 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
parameter [(puh-ram-uh-tuhr)]

A quantity or number on which some other quantity or number depends. An informal example is, “Depending on the traffic, it takes me between twenty minutes and an hour to drive to work”; here, “traffic” is the parameter that determines the time it takes to get to work. In statistics, a parameter is an unknown characteristic of a population — for example, the number of women in a particular precinct who will vote Democratic.

Note: The term is often mistakenly used to refer to the limits of possible values a variable can have because of confusion with the word perimeter.

[Chapter:] Physical Sciences and Mathematics


The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This

parameter
formal argument

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Parameter

La"tus rec"tum\ [L., the right side.] (Conic Sections) The line drawn through a focus of a conic section parallel to the directrix and terminated both ways by the curve. It is the parameter of the principal axis. See Focus, and Parameter.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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