- Involution
- Involution In`vo*lu"tion, n. [L. involutio: cf. F. involution.
See {Involve}.]
[1913 Webster]
1. The act of involving or infolding.
[1913 Webster]
2. The state of being entangled or involved; complication; entanglement. [1913 Webster]
All things are mixed, and causes blended, by mutual involutions. --Glanvill. [1913 Webster]
3. That in which anything is involved, folded, or wrapped; envelope. --Sir T. Browne. [1913 Webster]
4. (Gram.) The insertion of one or more clauses between the subject and the verb, in a way that involves or complicates the construction. [1913 Webster]
5. (Math.) The act or process of raising a quantity to any power assigned; the multiplication of a quantity into itself a given number of times; -- the reverse of evolution. [1913 Webster]
6. (Geom.) The relation which exists between three or more sets of points, a.a', b.b', c.c', so related to a point O on the line, that the product Oa.Oa' = Ob.Ob' = Oc.Oc' is constant. Sets of lines or surfaces possessing corresponding properties may be in involution. [1913 Webster]
7. (Med.) The return of an enlarged part or organ to its normal size, as of the uterus after pregnancy. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.