different between variety vs faction

English

Alternative forms

• variëty (rare)

Etymology

From Middle French varieté, from Latin variet?s (“difference, diversity”), from varius (“different, various”); see various. Displaced native Old English misl?cnes.

Pronunciation

• enPR: v?-r???-t?, IPA^(key): /v???a?.?.ti/
• Rhymes: -a??ti
• Hyphenation: va?ri?e?ty

Noun

variety (countable and uncountable, plural varieties)

1. The quality of being varied; diversity.

   Antonym: sameness

2. A specific variation of something.
3. A number of different things.

   Synonyms: array, assortment

4. A state of constant change.
5. (taxonomy) A rank in a taxonomic classification, below species (infraspecific), either below subspecies (subspecific) or ranked comparably therewith.
6. (cybernetics) The total number of distinct states of a system.
7. (cybernetics) Logarithm of the base 2 of the total number of distinct states of a system.
8. (linguistics) A term used for a specific form of a language, neutral to whether that form is a dialect, accent, register, etc. and to its prestige level.
9. (algebra, universal algebra) An equational class; the class of all algebraic structures of a given signature, satisfying a given set of identities.
10. (algebraic geometry) An algebraic variety.
11. The kind of theatrical entertainment given in variety shows.
12. The production of, or performance in, variety shows.

Synonyms

• (quality of being varied): See also Thesaurus:nonuniformity
• (algebraic geometry): algebraic variety
• (universal algebra): equational class, equational variety, variety of algebras

Hyponyms

• (specific variation of something): cultivar

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

• species
• (cybernetics: logarithm): information entropy

Further reading

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

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?fæk.??n/, /?fæk.?n?/
• Rhymes: -æk??n

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Middle French faction, from Latin facti? (“a group of people acting together, a political faction”), noun of process from perfect passive participle factus, from faci? (“do, make”). Doublet of fashion.

Noun

faction (countable and uncountable, plural factions)

1. (countable) A group of people, especially within a political organization, which expresses a shared belief or opinion different from people who are not part of the group.
2. (uncountable) Strife; discord.
   • 1805, Johann Georg Cleminius, Englisches Lesebuch für Kaufleute, pg. 188:

     Publick [sic] affairs soon fell into the utmost confusion, and in this state of faction and perplexity, the island continued, until its re-capture by the French in 1779.

   • 2001, Odd Magne Bakke, "Concord and Peace": A Rhetorical Analysis of the First Letter of Clement With an Emphasis on the Language of Unity and Sedition, publ. Mohr Siebeck, ?ISBN, pg. 89:

     He asks the audience if they believe that they will be more loved by the gods if the city is in a state of faction than if they govern the city with good order and concord.

Derived terms

• factional
• factionalize

Related terms

Translations

See also

• splinter group

Etymology 2

Blend of fact +? fiction.

Noun

faction (uncountable)

1. A form of literature, film etc., that treats real people or events as if they were fiction; a mix of fact and fiction

Derived terms

• science faction

Related terms

• fact
• fiction

See also

• Non-fiction novel on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin facti?, facti?nem. Compare façon, which is inherited rather than borrowed.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fak.sj??/

Noun

faction f (plural factions)

1. act of keeping watch
2. a watchman
3. (politics) a faction; specifically one which causes trouble

Further reading

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