different between optional vs optimal

English

Etymology

option +? -al

Adjective

optional (not comparable)

1. Not compulsory; left to personal choice; elective.

   Synonyms: facultative; see also Thesaurus:optional

   Antonyms: compulsory, mandatory, obligatory; see also Thesaurus:compulsory

Antonyms

• non-optional, nonoptional

Related terms

• option
• optionality
• optionally

Translations

Noun

optional (plural optionals)

1. Something that is not compulsory, especially part of an academic course.
2. (programming, sometimes capitalized) In various programming languages, a kind of variable that is assigned a specific data type but may or may not hold an actual value.
   • 2015, Richard M Reese, Learning Java Functional Programming, Packt Publishing Ltd (?ISBN), page 147:

     In functional languages, there is a data type called the option type, also called the maybe type. Its purpose is to encapsulate a value, which is returned from a function. […] In Java 8, the Optional class has been added to serve as an option type.

Anagrams

• Politano

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?pts??o?na?l/
• Hyphenation: op?ti?o?nal

Adjective

optional (not comparable)

1. optional

Declension

Further reading

• “optional” in Duden online

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English optional.

Noun

optional m (invariable)

1. optional accessory
2. handicap (horse racing)

Anagrams

• pilotano

English

Etymology

From the Latin optimus +? -al.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??pt?m?l/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /??pt?m?l/

Adjective

optimal (not comparable)

1. The best, most favourable or desirable, especially under some restriction.

   Finding the optimal balance between features and price is a common problem.

2. (artificial intelligence) Describing a search algorithm that always returns the best result.

Synonyms

• best, ideal, optimum

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Related terms

• suboptimal

Noun

optimal (plural optimals)

1. The best of its kind

French

Etymology

From the Latin optimum suffixed with -al.

Adjective

optimal (feminine singular optimale, masculine plural optimaux, feminine plural optimales)

1. optimal

Further reading

• “optimal” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?pti?ma?l/
• Rhymes: -a?l

Adjective

optimal (comparative optimaler, superlative am optimalsten)

1. optimal (perfect)
2. optimal (as good as possible under a given condition)
3. very good

Usage notes

The comparation forms are considered incorrect by some prescriptivists, and are widely restricted to less formal usage.

Declension

Further reading

• “optimal” in Duden online

Romanian

Etymology

From French optimal

Adjective

optimal m or n (feminine singular optimal?, masculine plural optimali, feminine and neuter plural optimale)

1. optimal

Declension