variation

See also: Variation

English

Etymology

From Middle French variation, from Old French variacion, from Latin variātiō.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌvɛəɹɪˈeɪʃn̩/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌvɛɹiˈeɪʃn̩/
• (regional US) IPA^(key): /ˌvɛəɹiˈeɪʃn̩/, /ˌvæɹiˈeɪʃn̩/
• Hyphenation: va‧ri‧a‧tion

Noun

variation (usually uncountable, plural variations)

1. The act of varying; a partial change in the form, position, state, or qualities of a thing
   • 2013 May-June, David Van Tassel, Lee DeHaan, “Wild Plants to the Rescue”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:

     Plant breeding is always a numbers game. […] The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, and individual plants are highly heterozygous and do not breed true. In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better.

2. A related but distinct thing.

   When the process didn't work, we tried a variation.

   All of his soups are variations on a single recipe.

3. (nautical) The angular difference at the vessel between the direction of true north and magnetic north.

   Synonym: magnetic declination

4. (board games) A line of play that differs from the original.
5. (music) A technique where material is repeated with alterations to the melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre, texture, counterpoint or orchestration; but with some invariant characteristic, e.g. a ground bass.
6. (genetics) The modification of a hereditary trait.
7. (astronomy) Deviation from the mean orbit of a heavenly body.

Derived terms

• magnetic variation
• theme and variations

Related terms

• vary
• variant

Translations

the act or state of varying

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Catalan: variació (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 變化 (zh), 变化 (zh) (biànhuà), 變動 (zh), 变动 (zh) (biàndòng)

• Czech: variace f
• Danish: variation c
• Dutch: afwisseling (nl) f, variatie (nl) f, verandering (nl) f
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: muuntelu (fi), vaihtelu (fi)
• French: variation (fr) f
• Galician: variación (gl) f
• Georgian: ვარიაცია (variacia), სახესხვაობა (saxesxvaoba)
• German: Veränderung (de) f
• Irish: athruithe, éagsúlacht f
• Italian: variazione (it)
• Japanese: 変動 (ja) (へんどう, hendō), 変化 (ja) (へんか, henka)
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can

• Korean: 변화 (ko) (byeonhwa) (變化 (ko))
• Latin: variatio
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: variasjon (no) m

  Nynorsk: variasjon m

• Polish: zmienność (pl) f
• Portuguese: variação (pt) f
• Romanian: variație (ro) f, variere f
• Russian: измене́ние (ru) n (izmenénije), варьи́рование (ru) n (varʹírovanije)
• Scottish Gaelic: mùthadh m, atharrachadh m, caochladh m
• Spanish: variación (es) f
• Swedish: variation (sv) c
• Tagalog: kaaligan
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

related but distinct thing

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Danish: variation c, variant c
• Dutch: variant (nl) m or f
• Esperanto: variaĵo
• Finnish: muunnos (fi)
• French: variante (fr) f
• Georgian: ვარიანტი (varianṭi), ვარიაცია (variacia), სახესხვაობა (saxesxvaoba)

• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Portuguese: variação (pt) f, variante (pt) f
• Russian: разнови́дность (ru) f (raznovídnostʹ), вариа́нт (ru) m (variánt), вариа́ция (ru) f (variácija)
• Spanish: variación (es) f
• Swedish: variation (sv) c, variant (sv) c
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

difference between true and magnetic (compass) north

• Danish: afvigelse c
• Finnish: eranto (fi)
• French: déclinaison (fr) f

• Swedish: avvikelse (sv) c

(board games) a line of play that differs from the original

• Danish: variant c
• Dutch: variant (nl) m or f
• Finnish: muunnos (fi)
• French: variante (fr) f

• German: Variante (de) f
• Swedish: variant (sv) c

a musical technique based on an altered repetition of a theme

• Catalan: variació (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 變奏曲 (zh), 变奏曲 (zh) (biànzòuqǔ)

• Danish: variation c
• Dutch: variatie (nl) f
• Finnish: muuntelu (fi)
• French: variation (fr) f
• Georgian: ვარიაცია (variacia), სახესხვაობა (saxesxvaoba)
• German: Variation (de) f
• Greek: παραλλαγή (el) f (parallagí)

• Italian: variazione (it) f
• Japanese: 変奏曲 (へんそうきょく, hensōkyoku)
• Polish: wariacja (pl) f
• Portuguese: variação (pt) f
• Russian: вариа́ция (ru) f (variácija)
• Swedish: variation (sv) c
• Turkish: çeşitleme (tr)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Korean: 변종 (ko) (byeonjong)

References

• US FM 55-501 MARINE CREWMAN’S HANDBOOK; 1 December 1999
• variation in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• variation in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

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French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin variātiō. See also véraison.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /va.ʁja.sjɔ̃/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

variation f (plural variations)

1. variation

Further reading

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

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Swedish

Etymology

variera +‎ -tion

Noun

variation c

1. a variation

Declension

Declension of variation
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	variation	variationen	variationer	variationerna
Genitive	variations	variationens	variationers	variationernas

Related terms

• variant