different between parameter vs character

English

Alternative forms

• parametre

Etymology

From French paramètre, from New Latin parametrum (“parameter”), from Ancient Greek ???? (pará, “beside”) + ?????? (métron, “measure”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /p???æm.?.t?/

Noun

parameter (plural parameters)

1. A value kept constant during an experiment, equation, calculation or similar, but varied over other versions of the experiment, equation, calculation, etc.
2. (sciences) a variable that describes some system (material, object, event etc.) or some aspect thereof
   • 2007, Charles M. Hansen, Hansen Solubility Parameters: A User's Handbook, Second Edition, CRC Press ?ISBN, page 113

     Cohesion parameters (solubility parameters) can be used with full theoretical justification to characterize many surfaces ...

   • 2012, Wolfgang Desch, Franz Kappel, Karl Kunisch, Control and Estimation of Distributed Parameter Systems: International Conference in Maria Trost (Austria), July 15–21, 2001, Birkhäuser ?ISBN, page 41

     To this end, we derive an a posteriori error estimator for the error with respect to the unknown parameter.

   • 2012, Michael Lemmon, Competitively Inhibited Neural Networks for Adaptive Parameter Estimation, Springer Science & Business Media ?ISBN, page 74

     The parameter estimation problem considered in this chapter consists of estimating the unknown parameter, ? [a barred v, actually], given N samples of the observation process.

3. (programming) An input variable of a procedure definition, that gets an actual value (argument) at execution time (formal parameter).

   Roughly, a tuple of arguments could be thought of as a vector, whereas a tuple of parameters could be thought of as a covector (i.e., linear functional). When a function is called, a parameter tuple becomes "bound" to an argument tuple, allowing the function instance itself to be computed to yield a return value. This would be roughly analogous to applying a covector to a vector (by taking their dot product (or, rather, matrix-product of row vector and column vector)) to obtain a scalar.

4. (programming) An actual value given to such a formal parameter (argument or actual parameter).
5. A characteristic or feature that distinguishes something from others.
6. (geometry) 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.

   The parameter of the principal axis of a conic section is called the latus rectum.

7. (crystallography) The ratio of the three crystallographic axes which determines the position of any plane.
8. (crystallography) The fundamental axial ratio for a given species.

Usage notes

• (the value used to instantiate the name): Some authors regard use of parameter to mean argument as imprecise, preferring that parameter refers only to the name that will be instantiated, and argument to refer to the value that will be supplied to it at runtime.

Synonyms

• (value passed to a function): argument
• (characteristic distinguishing something from others): distinguishing feature
• See also Thesaurus:characteristic

Derived terms

• actual parameter
• formal parameter

Related terms

• parametric
• parametrise, parametrize

Translations

See also

• variable

Further reading

• parameter in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• parameter in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin parameter.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pa??ra?m?t?r/, /?pa?ra??me?t?r/, /pa??ra??me?t?r/
• Hyphenation: pa?ra?me?ter

Noun

parameter m (plural parameters, diminutive parametertje n)

1. a parameter

Derived terms

• parametervoorstelling
• parametrisch

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From para- +? meter

Noun

parameter m (definite singular parameteren, indefinite plural parametere or parametre or parametrer, definite plural parameterne or parametrene)

1. a parameter

References

• “parameter” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From para- +? meter

Noun

parameter m (definite singular parameteren, indefinite plural parameterar or parametrar, definite plural parameterane or parametrane)

1. a parameter

References

• “parameter” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Swedish

Noun

parameter c

1. a parameter

Declension

English

Etymology

From Middle English caracter, from Old French caractere, from Latin character, from Ancient Greek ???????? (kharakt?r, “type, nature, character”), from ??????? (kharáss?, “I engrave”). Doublet of charakter.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?k??(?)kt?/, /?kæ?(?)kt?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?kæ??kt?/
• Hyphenation: char?ac?ter

Noun

character (countable and uncountable, plural characters)

1. (countable) A being involved in the action of a story.
2. (countable) A distinguishing feature; characteristic; trait; phene.

3. (uncountable, countable) A complex of traits marking a person, group, breed, or type.

   • A man of […] thoroughly subservient character

4. (uncountable) Strength of mind; resolution; independence; individuality; moral strength.

5. (countable) A unique or extraordinary individual; a person characterized by peculiar or notable traits, especially charisma.

6. (countable) A written or printed symbol, or letter.
   • 1669, William Holder, Elements of Speech

     It were much to be wished that there were throughout the world but one sort of character for each letter to express it to the eye.

7. (countable, dated) Style of writing or printing; handwriting; the particular form of letters used by a person or people.
8. (countable, dated) A secret cipher; a way of writing in code.
9. (countable, computing) One of the basic elements making up a text file or string: a code representing a printing character or a control character.
10. (countable, informal) A person or individual, especially one who is unknown or raises suspicions.

11. (countable, mathematics) A complex number representing an element of a finite Abelian group.
12. (countable) Quality, position, rank, or capacity; quality or conduct with respect to a certain office or duty.

13. (countable, dated) The estimate, individual or general, put upon a person or thing; reputation.

    • This subterraneous passage is much mended since Seneca gave so bad a character of it.

14. (countable, dated) A reference given to a servant, attesting to their behaviour, competence, etc.
15. (countable, obsolete) Personal appearance.

Usage notes

Character is sometimes used interchangeably with reputation, but the two words have different meanings; character describes the distinctive qualities of an individual or group while reputation describes the opinions held by others regarding an individual or group. Character is internal and authentic, while reputation is external and perceived.

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Pages starting with “character”.

Translations

Verb

character (third-person singular simple present characters, present participle charactering, simple past and past participle charactered)

1. (obsolete) To write (using characters); to describe.

See also

• codepoint
• font
• glyph
• letter
• symbol
• rune
• pictogram

Latin

Etymology

From the Ancient Greek ???????? (kharakt?r).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /k?a?rak.ter/, [k?ä??äkt??r]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ka?rak.ter/, [k????kt??r]

Noun

character m (genitive charact?ris); third declension

1. branding iron
2. brand (made by a branding iron)
3. characteristic, mark, character, style

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Descendants

• Hungarian: karakter
• Galician: caritel; ? carácter
• Irish: carachtar
• Italian: carattere
• Old French: caractere
  • ? English: character
  • French: caractère
• Polish: charakter
  • ? Russian: ????????? (xarákter)
• Portuguese: caractere, carácter
• Sicilian: caràttiri
• Spanish: carácter

References

• character in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• character in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• character in Ramminger, Johann (accessed 16 July 2016) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700?^[1], pre-publication website, 2005-2016

Portuguese

Noun

character m (plural characteres)

1. Obsolete spelling of caráter (used in Portugal until September 1911 and died out in Brazil during the 1920s).