symmetric
English
Etymology
From symmetry + -ic,[1][2] from Latin symmetria, from Ancient Greek συμμετρία (summetría).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American, Canada) IPA(key): /sɪˈmɛt.ɹɪk/
Audio (Southern England): (file) Audio (New Jersey): (file)
- (General Australian) IPA(key): /sɪˈmet.ɹɪk/
Adjective
symmetric (comparative more symmetric, superlative most symmetric)
- Symmetrical.
- (set theory) Of a relation R on a set S, such that xRy if and only if yRx for all members x and y of S (that is, if the relation holds between any element and a second, it also holds between the second and the first).
- "Is a sibling of" is a symmetric relation.
- (cryptography) Using the same key (or keys that are trivially related) for both encryption and decryption.
Derived terms
- antisymmetric
- asymmetric
- axi-symmetric
- axisymmetric
- bisymmetric
- centrosymmetric
- dissymmetric
- elementary symmetric polynomial
- enantioasymmetric
- enantiosymmetric
- hypersymmetric
- isosymmetric
- merosymmetric
- monosymmetric
- nonsymmetric
- orthosymmetric
- persymmetric
- radiosymmetric
- semisymmetric
- skew-symmetric
- skew symmetric
- skew-symmetric determinant
- skew-symmetric matrix
- strongly symmetric matter
- supersymmetric
- symmetric difference
- symmetric function
- symmetric group
- symmetric matrix
- symmetric polynomial
- unsymmetric
- weakly symmetric matter
Related terms
Translations
symmetrical — see symmetrical
of a relation R on a set S, such that xRy if and only if yRx for all members x and y of S
|
See also
References
- ^ “symmetric, adj.”, in OED Online [1], Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000, archived from the original on 19 September 2023.
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “symmetric”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.