variable
noun
- value that can change, usually with a context of an equation or operation
adjective
- changing, not always the same
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: [ˈvɛə.ɹi.ə.bl̩] / [ˈvæɹ.i.ə.bl̩] / [ˈvɛɹ.i.ə.bl̩]
adj
Etymology: Borrowed into Middle English in the 14th century from Old French variable, from Latin variare (“to change”), from varius (“different, various”). Equates to English vary + -able.
- Able to vary or be varied.
“variable winds or seasons; a variable quantity; a variable resistor”
- Likely to vary.
“Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.”
- Marked by diversity or difference.
- Having no fixed quantitative value.
- Tending to deviate from a normal or recognized type.
noun
Etymology: Borrowed into Middle English in the 14th century from Old French variable, from Latin variare (“to change”), from varius (“different, various”). Equates to English vary + -able.
- Something that is variable.
- Something whose value may be dictated or discovered.
“There are several variables to consider here.”
“Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola. A recent study explored the ecological variables that may contribute to bats’ propensity to harbor such zoonotic diseases by comparing them with another order of common reservoir hosts: rodents.”
- A quantity that may assume any one of a set of values.
- A symbol representing a variable.
- A named memory location in which a program can store intermediate results and from which it can read them.
- A variable star.
- A shifting wind, or one that varies in force.
- Those parts of the sea where a steady wind is not expected, especially the parts between the trade-wind belts.