unification - Definitions from Dictionary.com

5 results for: unification

Browse Nearby Entries

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

u·ni·fi·ca·tion

Audio Help [yoo-nuh-fi-key-shuh

n] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	the process of unifying or uniting; union: the unification of the 13 original colonies.

2.	the state or condition of being unified: The unification of the manufacturing and distribution functions under one executive has advantages.

[Origin: 1850–55; uni(fy) + -fication

]

—Synonyms 1, 2. consolidation, merger, coalition.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
unification

To learn more about unification visit Britannica.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

u·ni·fy Audio Help (yōō'nə-fī') Pronunciation Key
tr. & intr.v. u·ni·fied, u·ni·fy·ing, u·ni·fies
To make into or become a unit; consolidate.

[French unifier, from Old French, from Late Latin ūnificāre : Latin ūni-, uni- + Latin -ficāre, -fy.]

u'ni·fi'a·ble adj., u'ni·fi·ca'tion (-fĭ-kā'shən) n., u'ni·fi'er n.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

unification
noun
1.	an occurrence that involves the production of a union [syn: fusion]
2.	the state of being joined or united or linked; "there is strength in union" [syn: union] [ant: separation]
3.	the act of making or becoming a single unit; "the union of opposing factions"; "he looked forward to the unification of his family for the holidays" [syn: union] [ant: disunion]

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This

unification programming
The generalisation of pattern matching that is the logic programming equivalent of instantiation in logic. When two terms are to be unified, they are compared. If they are both constants then the result of unification is success if they are equal else failure. If one is a variable then it is bound to the other, which may be any term (which satisfies an "occurs check"), and the unification succeeds. If both terms are structures then each pair of sub-terms is unified recursively and the unification succeeds if all the sub-terms unify.
The result of unification is either failure or success with a set of variable bindings, known as a "unifier". There may be many such unifiers for any pair of terms but there will be at most one "most general unifier", other unifiers simply add extra bindings for sub-terms which are variables in the original terms.
(1995-12-14)