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symmetry

 - 7 dictionary results

sym⋅me⋅try

  [sim-i-tree]
Use symmetry in a Sentence
–noun, plural -tries.
1. the correspondence in size, form, and arrangement of parts on opposite sides of a plane, line, or point; regularity of form or arrangement in terms of like, reciprocal, or corresponding parts.
2. the proper or due proportion of the parts of a body or whole to one another with regard to size and form; excellence of proportion.
3. beauty based on or characterized by such excellence of proportion.
4. Mathematics.
a. a geometrical or other regularity that is possessed by a mathematical object and is characterized by the operations that leave the object invariant: A circle has rotational symmetry and reflection symmetry.
b. a rotation or translation of a plane figure that leaves the figure unchanged although its position may be altered.
5. Physics. a property of a physical system that is unaffected by certain mathematical transformations as, for example, the work done by gravity on an object, which is not affected by any change in the position from which the potential energy of the object is measured.
Origin:
1535–45; < L symmetria < Gk symmetría commensurateness. See sym-, -metry

Synonyms:
1. consonance, concord, correspondence. Symmetry, balance, proportion, harmony are terms used, particularly in the arts, to denote qualities based upon a correspondence or agreement, usually pleasing, among the parts of a whole. Symmetry implies either a quantitative equality of parts (the perfect symmetry of pairs of matched columns) or a unified system of subordinate parts: the symmetry of a well-ordered musical composition. Balance implies equality of parts, often as a means of emphasis: Balance in sentences may emphasize the contrast in ideas. Proportion depends less upon equality of parts than upon that agreement among them that is determined by their relation to a whole: The dimensions of the room gave a feeling of right proportion. Harmony, a technical term in music, may also suggest the pleasing quality that arises from a just ordering of parts in other forms of artistic composition: harmony of line, color, mass, phrase, ideas.

Antonyms:
1. asymmetry.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To symmetry
sym·me·try   (sĭm'ĭ-trē)   
n.   pl. sym·me·tries

  1. Exact correspondence of form and constituent configuration on opposite sides of a dividing line or plane or about a center or an axis. See Synonyms at proportion.

  2. A relationship of characteristic correspondence, equivalence, or identity among constituents of an entity or between different entities: the narrative symmetry of the novel.

  3. Beauty as a result of balance or harmonious arrangement.


[Latin symmetria, from Greek summetriā, from summetros, of like measure : sun-, syn- + metron, measure; see mē-2 in Indo-European roots.]
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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Cultural Dictionary

symmetry

In geometry, the equivalence, point for point, of a figure on opposite sides of a point, line, or plane.

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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Word Origin & History

symmetry 
1563, "relation of parts, proportion," from L. symmetria, from Gk. symmetria "agreement in dimensions, due proportion, arrangement," from symmetros "having a common measure, even, proportionate," from syn- "together" + metron "meter" (see meter (2)). Meaning "harmonic arrangement of parts" first recorded 1599. Symmetrical is recorded from 1751. Symmetrophobia is from 1809, supposed to be evident in Egyptian temples and Japanese art.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: sym·me·try
Pronunciation: 'sim-&-trE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -tries
1 : correspondence in size, shape, and relative position of parts on opposite sides of a dividing line or median plane or about a center or axis —see BILATERAL SYMMETRY, RADIAL SYMMETRY
2 : the property of remaining invariant under certain changes (as of orientation in space, of the sign of the electric charge, of parity, or of the direction of time flow) —usedof physical phenomena and of equations describing them
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

symmetry sym·me·try (sĭm'ĭ-trē)
n.
Exact correspondence of form and constituent configuration on opposite sides of a dividing line or plane or about a center or an axis.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Encyclopedia

symmetry

in biology, the repetition of the parts in an animal or plant in an orderly fashion. Specifically, symmetry refers to a correspondence of body parts, in size, shape, and relative position, on opposite sides of a dividing line or distributed around a central point or axis. With the exception of radial symmetry (see below), external form has little relation to internal anatomy, since animals of very different anatomical construction may have the same type of symmetry

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

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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