symmetry definition | Dictionary.com

sym⋅me⋅try

[sim-i-tree]

–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.

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

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

Symmetry

Sym"me*try\, n. [L. symmetria, Gr. ?; sy`n with, together + ? a measure: cf. F. sym['e]trie. See Syn-, and Meter rhythm.]

1. A due proportion of the several parts of a body to each other; adaptation of the form or dimensions of the several parts of a thing to each other; the union and conformity of the members of a work to the whole.

2. (Biol.) The law of likeness; similarity of structure; regularity in form and arrangement; orderly and similar distribution of parts, such that an animal may be divided into parts which are structurally symmetrical.

Note: Bilateral symmetry, or two-sidedness, in vertebrates, etc., is that in which the body can be divided into symmetrical halves by a vertical plane passing through the middle; radial symmetry, as in echinoderms, is that in which the individual parts are arranged symmetrically around a central axis; serial symmetry, or zonal symmetry, as in earthworms, is that in which the segments or metameres of the body are disposed in a zonal manner one after the other in a longitudinal axis. This last is sometimes called metamerism.

3. (Bot.) (a) Equality in the number of parts of the successive circles in a flower. (b) Likeness in the form and size of floral organs of the same kind; regularity.

Axis of symmetry. (Geom.) See under Axis.

Respective symmetry, that disposition of parts in which only the opposite sides are equal to each other.

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

Language Translation for : symmetry

Spanish: simetría,

German: die Symmetrie,

Japanese: 対称

More Translations »

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.
Cite This Source

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.

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

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.

symmetry (sĭm'ĭ-trē) Pronunciation Key

An exact matching of form and arrangement of parts on opposite sides of a boundary, such as a plane or line, or around a central point or axis.
Physics See invariance.

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.
Cite This Source

Search another word or see symmetry on Thesaurus | Reference

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Advertise with Us · Link to Us · NASCAR® · Contact Us