Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Variable?

\Va"ri*a*ble\, a. [L. variabilis: cf. F. variable.] 1. Having the capacity of varying or changing; capable of alternation in any manner; changeable; as, variable winds or seasons; a variable quantity. 2. Liable to vary; too susceptible of change; mutable; fickle; unsteady; inconstant; as, the affections of men are variable; passions are variable. Lest that thy love prove likewise variable. --Shak. His heart, I know, how variable and vain! --Milton. {Variable exhaust} (Steam Eng.), a blast pipe with an adjustable opening. {Variable quantity} (Math.), a variable. {Variable stars} (Astron.), fixed stars which vary in their brightness, usually in more or less uniform periods. Syn: Changeable; mutable; fickle; wavering; unsteady; versatile; inconstant.
\Va"ri*a*ble\, n. 1. That which is variable; that which varies, or is subject to change. 2. (Math.) A quantity which may increase or decrease; a quantity which admits of an infinite number of values in the same expression; a variable quantity; as, in the equation x^{2} - y^{2} = R^{2}, x and y are variables. 3. (Naut.) (a) A shifting wind, or one that varies in force. (b) pl. Those parts of the sea where a steady wind is not expected, especially the parts between the trade-wind belts. {Independent variable} (Math.), that one of two or more variables, connected with each other in any way whatever, to which changes are supposed to be given at will. Thus, in the equation x^{2} - y^{2} = R^{2}, if arbitrary changes are supposed to be given to x, then x is the independent variable, and y is called a function of x. There may be two or more independent variables in an equation or problem. Cf. {Dependent variable}, under {Dependent}.