Wiktionary

constant

See also: Constant

English

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Etymology

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From Middle English constant, from Old French constant, from Latin constantem, accusative of constans, from constare (“to stand firm”). Displaced native Old English singal.

Pronunciation

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  • (UK) enPR: kŏn'stənt IPA(key): /ˈkɒnstənt/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈkɑnstənt/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Adjective

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constant (comparative more constant, superlative most constant)

  1. Unchanged through time or space; permanent.
  2. Consistently recurring over time; persistent.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:continuous
    • 2013 November 16, Schumpeter, “The mindfulness business”, in The Economist, volume 409, number 8862:
      The constant pinging of electronic devices is driving many people to the end of their tether. Electronic devices not only overload the senses and invade leisure time. They feed on themselves: the more people tweet the more they are rewarded with followers and retweets.
  3. Steady in purpose, action, feeling, etc.
  4. Firm; solid; not fluid.
    • 1659 December 30 (date written), Robert Boyle, New Experiments Physico-Mechanicall, Touching the Spring of the Air, and Its Effects, (Made, for the Most Part, in a New Pneumatical Engine) […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] H[enry] Hall, printer to the University, for Tho[mas] Robinson, published 1660, →OCLC:
      If […] you mix them, you may turn these two fluid liquors into a constant body.
  5. (obsolete) Consistent; logical.
  6. (computing, complexity theory) Bounded above by a constant.
    constant time   constant space

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Noun

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constant (plural constants)

polynomial degrees
Previous: n/a
Next: linear
  1. That which is permanent or invariable.
  2. (algebra) A quantity that remains at a fixed value throughout a given discussion.
    • 2015, Emanuel Carneiro, Damiano Foschi, Diogo Oliveira e Silva, Christoph Thiele, “A sharp trilinear inequality related to Fourier restriction on the circle”, in arXiv‎[1]:
      We also establish that constants are local extremizers of the Tomas-Stein adjoint restriction inequality as well as of another inequality appearing in the program..
  3. (sciences) Any property of an experiment, determined numerically, that does not change under given circumstances.
    • 2015, Lenny H.E. Winkel et al., “Selenium Cycling Across Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Interfaces: A Critical Review”, in Nutrients‎[2], volume 7, →DOI:
      Based on their acid dissociation constants (pKa), seleneous[sic] acid (H2SeO3) and selenic acid (H2SeO4) are anionic under common environmental conditions [48], e.g., as selenite (SeO32−) and selenate (SeO42−).
  4. (computing) An identifier that is bound to an invariant value; a fixed value given a name to aid in readability of source code.

Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
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See also

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Catalan

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Etymology 1

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Borrowed from Latin cōnstantem.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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constant m or f (masculine and feminine plural constants)

  1. constant
    Antonym: inconstant
Derived terms
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Noun

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constant f (plural constants)

  1. constant

Further reading

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Etymology 2

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Verb

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constant

  1. gerund of constar

Dutch

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Middle French constant, from Latin cōnstāns.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /kɔnˈstɑnt/, /ˈkɔn.stɑnt/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: con‧stant
  • Rhymes: -ɑnt

Adjective

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constant (comparative constanter, superlative constantst)

  1. constant, invariable
  2. constant, continuous, unceasing

Declension

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Declension of constant
uninflected constant
inflected constante
comparative constanter
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial constant constanter het constantst
het constantste
indefinite m./f. sing. constante constantere constantste
n. sing. constant constanter constantste
plural constante constantere constantste
definite constante constantere constantste
partitive constants constanters —

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • → Indonesian: konstan

French

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Etymology

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From Latin cōnstantem.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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constant (feminine constante, masculine plural constants, feminine plural constantes)

  1. constant

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Latin

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Verb

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cōnstant

  1. third-person plural present active indicative of cōnstō

Romanian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French constant, from Latin constans.

Adjective

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constant m or n (feminine singular constantă, masculine plural constanți, feminine and neuter plural constante)

  1. constant

Declension

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Declension of constant
singular plural
masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
nominative-
accusative 		indefinite constant constantă constanți constante
definite constantul constanta constanții constantele
genitive-
dative 		indefinite constant constante constanți constante
definite constantului constantei constanților constantelor
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