topology
|to-pol-o-gy|
🇺🇸
/təˈpɑːlədʒi/
🇬🇧
/təˈpɒlədʒi/
study/description of place or arrangement
Etymology
'topology' originates from Modern Latin/Greek, specifically the word 'topologia' (from Greek 'topos' + '-logia'), where 'topos' meant 'place' and '-logia' meant 'study of'.
'topology' changed from the Greek word 'τόπος' ('topos') and the suffix '-λογία' ('-logia') into Medieval/Modern Latin 'topologia', then into German 'Topologie' in the 19th century (used in mathematical contexts), and eventually became the modern English word 'topology'.
Initially it meant 'the study or description of places', but over time it evolved into its current technical meanings such as 'the mathematical study of properties invariant under continuous deformation' and more generally 'the arrangement or connectivity of parts'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
(mathematics) The branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of space that are preserved under continuous deformations such as stretching and bending (e.g., connectivity, compactness, continuity).
Topology studies properties of spaces that remain unchanged under continuous deformations like stretching and bending.
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Noun 2
the arrangement or pattern of elements in a system (especially in networks), describing how components are connected or organized (e.g., network topology, circuit topology).
The network's topology determines how data flows between devices.
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Noun 3
the way in which parts of a molecule or object are interrelated (in chemistry or biology), i.e., the molecule's or structure's connectivity rather than precise geometric positions.
Chemists examined the molecule's topology to understand its reactivity.
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Last updated: 2025/10/13 04:36