variation English · revision 8044

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1385|origins=la vario}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˌvɛəɹɪˈeɪʃn̩/ ''(UK)''; /ˌvɛəɹiˈeɪʃn̩/, /ˌvæɹiˈeɪʃn̩/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English variacioun, [[bor|fro|variation|t=variety, diversity]] and directly Latin [[m|la|variatio|t=difference, change]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from the past participle stem of [[m|la|vario|alt=variāre|t=to change]] (see [[vary]]).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Difference, divergence: about 1385, in Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales'';^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) about 1400 in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ NODE notes the early sense variance or conflict,^(NODE 1998) and discord is an obsolete sense of about 1485.^(OED 1989) The act or process of changing is from the mid-15th century,^(Etymonline) and the fact of varying from 1502.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) An instance of change is by the 1610s,^(Etymonline) and the extent of variation by 1810.^(Etymonline) In music, a theme repeated with changes and elaborations is from 1801.^(Etymonline) Magnetic declination is a technical sense.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1385 – a difference.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * mid-15th century – a process of change.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1502 – the fact of varying.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1801 – in music.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1810 – the extent of variation.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act, process or result of [[vary|alt=varying]]; change or difference.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The amount or degree of change.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something that differs slightly from others of its kind.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(music)'' A repetition of a [[theme]] with changes in rhythm, harmony or melody.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[variational]]

+ * [[variationally]]

+ * [[covariation]]

+ * [[intervariation]]

+ * [[nonvariation]]

+ * [[magnetic variation]]

+ * [[free variation]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vary]]

+ * [[variant]]

+ * [[variable]]

+ * [[variety]]

+ * [[various]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}