from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Variation \Va`ri*a"tion\, n. [OE. variatioun, F. variation, L.
variatio. See {Vary}.]
1. The act of varying; a partial change in the form,
position, state, or qualities of a thing; modification;
alteration; mutation; diversity; deviation; as, a
variation of color in different lights; a variation in
size; variation of language.
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The essences of things are conceived not capable of
any such variation. --Locke.
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2. Extent to which a thing varies; amount of departure from a
position or state; amount or rate of change.
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3. (Gram.) Change of termination of words, as in declension,
conjugation, derivation, etc.
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4. (Mus.) Repetition of a theme or melody with fanciful
embellishments or modifications, in time, tune, or
harmony, or sometimes change of key; the presentation of a
musical thought in new and varied aspects, yet so that the
essential features of the original shall still preserve
their identity.
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5. (Alg.) One of the different arrangements which can be made
of any number of quantities taking a certain number of
them together.
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{Annual variation} (Astron.), the yearly change in the right
ascension or declination of a star, produced by the
combined effects of the precession of the equinoxes and
the proper motion of the star.
{Calculus of variations}. See under {Calculus}.
{Variation compass}. See under {Compass}.
{Variation of the moon} (Astron.), an inequality of the
moon's motion, depending on the angular distance of the
moon from the sun. It is greater at the octants, and zero
at the quadratures.
{Variation of the needle} (Geog. & Naut.), the angle included
between the true and magnetic meridians of a place; the
deviation of the direction of a magnetic needle from the
true north and south line; -- called also {declination of
the needle}.
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Syn: Change; vicissitude; variety; deviation.
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Declination \Dec`li*na"tion\, n. [L. declinatio a bending aside,
an avoiding: cf. F. d['e]clination a decadence. See
{Declension}.]
1. The act or state of bending downward; inclination; as,
declination of the head.
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2. The act or state of falling off or declining from
excellence or perfection; deterioration; decay; decline.
"The declination of monarchy." --Bacon.
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Summer . . . is not looked on as a time
Of declination or decay. --Waller.
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3. The act of deviating or turning aside; oblique motion;
obliquity; withdrawal.
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The declination of atoms in their descent.
--Bentley.
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Every declination and violation of the rules.
--South.
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4. The act or state of declining or refusing; withdrawal;
refusal; averseness.
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The queen's declination from marriage. --Stow.
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5. (Astron.) The angular distance of any object from the
celestial equator, either northward or southward.
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6. (Dialing) The arc of the horizon, contained between the
vertical plane and the prime vertical circle, if reckoned
from the east or west, or between the meridian and the
plane, reckoned from the north or south.
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7. (Gram.) The act of inflecting a word; declension. See
{Decline}, v. t., 4.
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{Angle of declination}, the angle made by a descending line,
or plane, with a horizontal plane.
{Circle of declination}, a circle parallel to the celestial
equator.
{Declination compass} (Physics), a compass arranged for
finding the declination of the magnetic needle.
{Declination of the compass} or {Declination of the needle},
the horizontal angle which the magnetic needle makes with
the true north-and-south line.
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