parameter definition | Dictionary.com

pa⋅ram⋅e⋅ter

[puh-ram-i-ter]

–noun

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

Related forms:

par⋅a⋅met⋅ric [par-uh-me-trik]

, par⋅a⋅met⋅ri⋅cal, adjective

Usage note:
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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To parameter

pa·ram·e·ter (pə-rām'ĭ-tər)

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.
Statistics A quantity, such as a mean, that is calculated from data and describes a population.
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.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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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.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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
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parameter pa·ram·e·ter (pə-rām'ĭ-tər)
n.

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.
A factor that determines a range of variations; a boundary.
A statistical quantity, such as a mean or standard deviation of a total population, that is calculated from data and describes a characteristic of the population as opposed to a sample from the population.
A psychoanalytic tactic, other than interpretation, used by the analyst to further the patient's progress.
A factor that restricts what is possible or what results. Not in technical use.
A distinguishing characteristic or feature. Not in technical use.

par'a·met'ric (pār'ə-mět'rĭk) or par'a·met'ri·cal adj.
par'a·met'ri·cal·ly adv.

parameter
formal argument

parameter

in mathematics, a variable for which the range of possible values identifies a collection of distinct cases in a problem. Any equation expressed in terms of parameters is a parametric equation. The general equation of a straight line in slope-intercept form, y=mx+b, in which m and b are parameters, is an example of a parametric equation. When values are assigned to the parameters, such as the slope m=2 and the y-intercept b=3, and substitution is made, the resulting equation, y=2x+3, is that of a specific straight line and is no longer parametric

Learn more about parameter with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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